Reading the Books 2
by Lottielue1
Summary: Sequel to Reading the Books, this time the group has been welcomed with the arrival of Ginny Weasley and now they sit down to read the second book in the saga, Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets.
1. The Worst Birthday

**Sequel to Reading the Books, this time the group has been welcomed with the arrival of Ginny Weasley and now they sit down to read the second book in the saga, Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets.**

**It's been a few months since I finished the 1st one which took me just over 3 years to write hopefully this one won't take as long, I've had a lot of people requesting the story to finally be made so here's the first chapter enjoyy :D **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the idea, nor am I making any profit from this. This story is just for the entertainment of the readers.**

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"Hi everyone nice to meet you all," said Ginny looking over everyone in the room, her eyes stopped on James and Lily for a second before drifting on over to Snape, Lucius and Bellatrix and her face hardened. She had yet to hear the truth about Snape.

"Hey," said Lily smiling at the red hair quickly noticing how her son looked at the girl and smiled, it was obviously a Potter thing she mused in her head.

"Is she in the next book?" Lucius drawled lying back on his hands looking up at Ron and Ginny.

"What do you mean, all McGonagall said I was going back in time and I was going to meet some people and hopefully change the future."

"To your question Lucius she is in this book, and Ginny, we've got 7 books and there about Harry's life from our 1st year to our 7th year, the adventure's we've been through and things we've learnt, the plan is the people in the room will hear this and with what they hear will change the future because the decisions they make will be different. We're praying that this will stop many deaths and problems."

Ginny's eyes clouded other as the image of her dead brother entered her mind, "I'm in, what book is this one that Malfoy was talking about?"

"The book's title is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," Ron said and watched his sister's eyes widened, "don't worry you won't look bad," he then whispered.

"So what happened in the first book?" Ginny asked as she sat down between Harry and Ron.

"Basically you get an insight to Harry's life in the Muggle world, his first year at Hogwarts and how we discovered the school was keeping the Philosopher's Stone safe and how we had to break down the wards the Professor's had put up to keep us out. Harry nearly died that year, so did Ron and I, luckily we all survived." Hermione explained. "Just a quick rundown of who everyone is: we've Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Alice Smith, Frank Longbottom, Regulus Black, Narcissa Black, Andromeda Tonks, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape plus you've the two Professors, McGonagall and Dumbledore."

Ginny smiled at everyone, her smile grew tight as she looked over at the future Deatheaters.

"We've said to everyone that we will stay biased and not judge anyone for what happens in the books because we want this to no longer be the truth." Harry told her and she nodded smiling at Harry.

"So who hasn't read yet other than Ginny?" Neville asked the room. Andromeda, Professor Dumbledore and Sirius each raised their hands.

"So, which one of you wants to read?"

"I'll give it a shot if neither of you two want too?" said Sirius and watched as both Andromeda and Professor Dumbledore shook their heads.

"Go ahead my boy," Professor Dumbledore said.

Sirius picked up the book and opened it to the first page, "so the first chapter of book number two is… **The Worst Birthday**,**"**

"Great I'm sure this is going to be such a cheery chapter," sighed Alice.

**Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew Harry's room.**

"**Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"**

**Harry tried, yet again, to explain.**

"**She's bored," he said. "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night -"**

"**Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy moustache.**

**"I know what'll happen if that owl's let out."**

**He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia.**

**Harry tried to argue back but his words were drowned by a long, loud belch from the Dursleys' son, Dudley.**

"**I want more bacon."**

"**There's more in the frying pan, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia, turning misty eyes on her massive son. **

"Looks like dear Dudley has gotten fatter since you went to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall sound of disapproval in her voice.

"You've know idea," Harry chuckled remembering the size that Dudley was back then.

**"We must build you up while we've got the chance… I don't like the sound of that school food…"**

**"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?"**

**Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair, grinned and turned to Harry.**

"I'm sorry but how could you let yourself get so fat!" Narcissa said her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"**Pass the frying pan."**

"**You've forgotten the magic word," said Harry irritably.**

"Don't think you should have said that Potter," Draco smirked.

**The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredible: Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen; Mrs Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth; Mr Dursley jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples.**

"**I meant 'please'!" said Harry quickly. "I didn't mean —"**

"**WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," thundered his uncle, spraying spit over the table, **

"Lovely table manners he has," Bellatrix said dryly her lips twisted

**"ABOUT SAYING THE 'M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?"**

"**But I —"**

**"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his fist.**

"**I just —"**

"**I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS ROOF!"**

"ABNORMALITY! How dare him that pathetic excuse of a man!" snapped Ginny breathing heavy her cheeks flushed.

**Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his pale aunt, who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet.**

"**All right," said Harry, "all right…"**

**Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a winded rhinoceros and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes.**

**Ever since Harry had come home for the summer holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating him like a bomb that might go off at any moment, because Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy. As a matter of fact, he was as not normal as it is possible to be.**

**Harry Potter was a wizard,** **a wizard fresh from his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have him back for the holidays, it was nothing to how Harry felt.**

**He missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomach-ache. He missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his classes (though perhaps not Snape, the Potions master)…**

"Thanks a lot," Snape said sarcastically, "glad to hear I will be so missed,"

"You're so welcome," Harry laughed.

"Don't worry I didn't miss you," said Neville as a matter of fact.

… **The mail arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in his four-poster bed in the tower dormitory, visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin next to the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and, especially, Quidditch, the most popular sport in the Wizarding world (six tall goal posts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks).**

**All Harry's spell books, his wand, robes, cauldron, and top-of-the-line Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick had been locked in a cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry had come home. **

"How will you do the homework you were set over the holidays if all your stuff are locked away," said Lily "Petunia knows full well that Hogwarts give homework over the summer holidays"

"She's most likely doing this because she's hoping he'll get kicked out of Hogwarts," Hermione said angrily

**What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team because he hadn't practiced all summer?**

**What was it to the Dursleys if Harry went back to school without any of his homework done? **

"You, worrying over homework well that would be a first, it's normally Hermione forcing you to do it," informed Ginny staring at him and Harry looked down staring at her from the corner of his eyes unimpressed. Watching Ron laugh beside her. "I don't know what your laughing at Ronald Weasley you left all your homework to the last week of the holidays," Ginny had now turned on her brother, the Slytherins sat watching amused all of them starting to like the newest member to the group.

The marauders sat and watched the scene looking between Lily and Ginny instantly seeing the connection they shared.

"Gotta be a redhead thing," Remus whispered to Sirius.

**The Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins), and as far as they were concerned, having a wizard in the family was a matter of deepest shame. Uncle Vernon had even padlocked Harry's owl, Hedwig, inside her cage, to stop her from carrying messages to anyone in the Wizarding world.**

**Harry looked nothing like the rest of the family.**

"Thank god!" said Lily knowing what Petunia and Vernon looked like.

**Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black moustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony; Dudley was blond, pink, and porky. Harry, on the other hand, was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a thin, lightning-shaped scar.**

**It was this scar that made Harry so particularly unusual, even for a wizard. This scar was the only hint of Harry's very mysterious past, of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.**

**At the age of one year old. Harry had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer of all time,** **Lord Voldermort, whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak. Harry's parents had died in Voldermort's attack, but Harry had escaped with his lightning scar, and somehow — nobody understood why —Voldermort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry. So Harry had been brought up by his dead mother's sister and her husband. He had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why he kept making odd things happen without meaning to, believing the Dursleys' story that he had got his scar in the car crash that had killed his parents. **

"What?" said Draco and Ginny hearing this for the first time?

"It was Hagrid that told me I was a wizard didn't quite believe it at the start thought he was pulling my leg. I had always been told I got lucky and survived the car crash that had killed my parents.

**And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry, and the whole story had come out. Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous… but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly. **

**The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday.**

"I figured it was your birthday with the chapter title," said James sadly.

**Of course, his hopes hadn't been high; they'd never given him a real present, let alone a cake — but to ignore it completely…**

**At that moment, Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, "Now, as we all know, today is a very important day."**

**Harry looked up, hardly daring to believe it.**

"He can't be," said Lucius shocked; there were similar expressions on the other Slytherin's faces.

"**This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career," said Uncle Vernon.**

"Thought it was a bit hard to believe," said Bellatrix shaking her head.

**Harry went back to his toast. Of course, he thought bitterly, Uncle Vernon was talking about the stupid dinner party. He'd been talking of nothing else for two weeks. Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon's company made drills).**

"**I think we should run through the schedule one more time," said Uncle Vernon. "We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be —?"**

"**In the lounge," said Aunt Petunia promptly, "waiting to welcome them graciously to our home."**

"**Good, good. And Dudley?"**

"**I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley put on a foul, simpering smile. "May I take your coats, Mr and Mrs Mason?"**

"**They'll love him!" cried Aunt Petunia rapturously.**

"I'd look at the boy and be disgusted with how the parent's had allowed him to get so fat," Professor McGonagall disapprovingly said.

"**Excellent, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon. Then he rounded on Harry. "And you?"**

"**I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry tonelessly.**

"Personally Prongslet I think you got the best deal," laughed Sirius.

"Nope, it wasn't the best day for me. You'll see soon enough,"

"I don't like the sound of this," Frank said a little apprehensive.

"**Exactly," said Uncle Vernon nastily. "I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them drinks. At eight-fifteen —"**

"**I'll announce dinner," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**And, Dudley, you'll say —"**

"**May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs Mason?" said Dudley, offering his fat arm to an invisible woman.**

"**My perfect little gentleman!" sniffed Aunt Petunia.**

"**And you?" said Uncle Vernon viciously to Harry.**

"**I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry dully.**

"**Precisely. Now, we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?"**

"**Vernon tells me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr Mason… Do tell me where you bought your dress, Mrs Mason…"**

"**Perfect… Dudley?"**

"**How about —'We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr Mason, and I wrote about you."**

"That's awkward seeing as he is on summer break," huffed Hermione, "Not only that can u image someone saying that to you, you'd know straight away it's fake and if not that that plain creepy."

**This was too much for both Aunt Petunia and Harry. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son, while Harry ducked under the table so they wouldn't see him laughing.**

"**And you, boy?"**

**Harry fought to keep his face straight as he emerged.**

"**I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," he said.**

"**Too right, you will." said Uncle Vernon forcefully. "The Masons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way."**

Harry smirked and said nothing but the others in the room knew something was up, Hermione and Ron however knew exactly what was going to happen and were also smirking.

"**When dinner's over, you take Mrs Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten. Be shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time tomorrow."**

**Harry couldn't feel too excited about this. He didn't think the Dursleys would like him any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive.**

"**Right — I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you," he snarled at Harry. "You stay out of your aunt's way while she's cleaning."**

**Harry left through the back door. It was a brilliant, sunny day. He crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench, and sang under his breath:**

"**Happy birthday to me… happy birthday to me…"**

**No cards, no presents, and he would be spending the evening pretending not to exist. He gazed miserably into the hedge. He had never felt so lonely. More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.**

"Awww bless you," said Lily smiling softly at her future son, it pained her to know that he would be hurting so badly and she wouldn't be able to stop it.

**They, however, didn't seem to be missing him at all. Neither of them had written to him all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and stay.**

"That doesn't make any sense, Ron did write to Harry but he had often said that Harry had never written back," said Ginny confused looking at Ron and Harry but neither said anything they just glanced towards one another.

**Countless times, Harry had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig's cage by magic and sending her to Ron and Hermione with a letter, but it wasn't worth the risk. Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. Harry hadn't told the Dursleys this; he knew it was only their terror that he might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking him in the cupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.**

**For the first couple of weeks back, Harry had enjoyed muttering nonsense words under his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him. But the long silence from Ron and Hermione had made Harry feel so cut off from the magical world that even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal — and now Ron and Hermione had forgotten his birthday.**

"I hate not knowing something, it's obvious that you three aren't telling us something," said Andromeda looking between the three.

**What wouldn't he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? He'd almost be glad of a sight of his archenemy, Draco Malfoy; just to be sure it hadn't all been a dream…**

"Much love Potter," Draco said rolling his eyes but was secretly surprised his name had been mentioned in the first chapter.

**Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very end of last term, Harry had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldermort himself. Voldermort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power. Harry had slipped through Voldermort's clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, Harry kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldermort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes —**

**Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. He had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge — and the hedge was staring back. Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.**

"What?" said Peter, "you sure it wasn't a cat?"

"Definitely far too big to be a cat," said Harry grinning he knew who it was and recoiled the moment he first met a loyal and very much missed friend. "Sirius keep reading."

**Harry jumped to his feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.**

"**I know what day it is," sang Dudley, waddling toward him.**

**The huge eyes blinked and vanished.**

"**What?" said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.**

"**I know what day it is," Dudley repeated, coming right up to him.**

"**Well done," said Harry. "So you've finally learned the days of the week."**

"**Today's your birthday," sneered Dudley. "How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you even got friends at that freak place?"**

"As if Dudley knew it was your birthday, obviously he pays more attention than you think," said Frank surprised.

"Dudley has his moments,"

"**Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school," said Harry coolly.**

**Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.**

"**Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously.**

"**I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," said Harry.**

**Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.**

"**You c-can't — Dad told you you're not to do m-magic — he said he'll chuck you out of the house — and you haven't got anywhere else to go — you haven't got any friends to take you —"**

"**Jiggery pokery!" said Harry in a fierce voice. "Hocus pocus — squiggly wiggly —"**

"That isn't even magic," said Regulus.

"I know that and you know that, but Dudley didn't," Harry said smirking.

"How very Slytherin of you Mr Potter," chuckled Professor Dumbledore.

"**MUUUUUUM!" howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house. "MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!"**

**Harry paid dearly for his moment of fun. As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew he hadn't really done magic, but he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his head with the soapy frying pan.**

**Then she gave him work to do, with the promise he wouldn't eat again until he'd finished.**

"Bitch," muttered James under his breath.

**While Dudley lolled around watching and eating ice cream, Harry cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench.**

"Child abuse, Albus I hope you're paying attention to this," snapped Professor McGonagall angrily.

Hermione leaned over to Harry, "if nothing else changes I don't think you'll be living with the Dursleys, I don't think Professor McGonagall would allow it." Harry nodded grinning.

**The sun blazed overhead, burning the back of his neck. Harry knew he shouldn't have risen to Dudley's bait, but Dudley had said the very thing Harry had been thinking himself… maybe he didn't have any friends at Hogwarts…**

**Wish they could see famous Harry Potter now, he thought savagely as he spread manure on the flower beds, his back aching, sweat running down his face.**

**It was half past seven in the evening when at last, exhausted, he heard Aunt Petunia calling him.**

"**Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!"**

**Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen. On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding: a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling in the oven.**

"**Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!" snapped Aunt Petunia, pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table. **

"That's it," said Narcissa surprised, "the house elves get more than that!"

Everyone heard Professor McGonagall mutter child abuse for the second time, none wanting to speak everyone agreeing with what she had said.

**She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail dress.**

"Pink was never her colour," Lily mentioned mildly.

**Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper. The moment he had finished, Aunt Petunia whisked away his plate. "Upstairs! Hurry!"**

**As he passed the door to the living room, Harry caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in bow ties and dinner jackets. He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the doorbell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs.**

"**Remember, boy — one sound —"**

**Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was there was already someone sitting on it.**

"I bet you anything whatever is sat on your bed will have something to do with the eyes in the hedge!" said Neville confidently.

"Is that the end of the chapter?" Remus asked and Sirius nodded.

"Interesting to say the least, I'm quite looking forward to how dinner is going to work out. I'm sure it'll not run as smoothly as he hopes." Said Lucius intrigued.

"We'll have to get move on to the next chapter and then we will find out," said Ginny smiling.

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**Can't promise it's perfect but please review :D**


	2. Dobby's Warning

**It's been quite awhile since I posted the first chapter of this fic but here is the second one. Chamber of Secrets is my least favourite of all the books. **

**I hope you like this chapter hope to get the next one up soon.**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the idea, nor am I making any profit from this. This story is just for the entertainment of the readers.**

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Dobby's Warning 

"So who would like to read the next chapter?" Harry asked looking to the book in Sirius's hand.

"Why don't you take the book this time Albus?" Professor McGonagall said looking at the headmaster. Dumbledore sat quietly for a few moments and nodded his head taking the book out of Sirius's hand.

"Very well Minerva, this chapter is called **Dobby's Warning**,"

"Our house elf," Draco and Lucius mumbled at the same time, both agreeing with what Neville had said about the eyes in the bush being on his bed.

**Harry managed not to shout, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat like ears, and bulging green eyes the size as tennis balls.** **Harry knew instantly that this was that had been watching him out of the garden hedge this morning.** **As they stared at each other, Harry heard Dudley's voice from the hall.**

"**May I take your coats, Mr and Mrs Mason?"**

**The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillow case, with rips for arms- and leg holes.**

"**Er-Hello" said Harry nervously.**

"**Harry Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down the stairs "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir… such an honour it is…"**

"You are that famous that even the house elves know who you are," chuckled James proud of his son for not letting the fame go straight to his head.

"**Th-thank-you," said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her cage. He wanted to ask 'What are you?', but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, "Who are you?"**

"**Dobby, sir, just Dobby the house-elf," said the creature**

"**Oh- really?" said Harry. "Er- I don't want to be rude or anything, but- this isn't a great time for me to have a house- elf in my bedroom."**

**Aunt Petunia's high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head.**

"**Not that I'm pleased to meet you," said Harry quickly, "But, err, is there any particular reason you're here?"**

"**Oh, yes, sir," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you, sir… it is difficult, sir… Dobby wonders where to begin…"**

"**Sit down," said Harry politely, pointing at the bed**

"Oh dear, first time you've met a house elf then," Sirius said shaking his head.

"How'd you guess," chuckled Harry remembering the scene very well.

**To his horror, the elf burst into tears-very noisy tears.**

"**S-sit down!" he wailed "Never…Never ever…"**

**Harry thought he heard the voices down stairs falter.**

"**I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything-"**

"**Offend Dobby!" chocked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard- like an equal-"**

**Harry, trying to say "Shh!" and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself, and sat with him great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration.**

"**You can't have met many decent wizards," said Harry, trying to cheer him up**

**Dobby shook his head, then without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"**

Everyone in the room looked towards Lucius and Draco who sat silent both were thinking the same thing.

"So it appears the Malfoy's here aren't a very good family," said Remus smirking, everyone in the room, from that time knew who Abraxas Malfoy was, a man who was a strong believer that only Pureblood Wizards and Witches should be allowed in the Wizarding World.

"**Don't-What are you doing?" Harry hissed, springing up and pulling him back onto the bed- Hedwig had woken up with a particular loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.**

"**Dobby had to punish himself, sir," said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir…"**

"**Your family?"**

"**The wizard family Dobby serves, sir…Dobby is a house elf bound to serve one house and family forever…"**

"**Do they know you're here?" asked Harry curiously **

**Dobby shuddered.**

"Stupid question Potter," muttered Bellatrix under her breath, Narcissa heard and smirked.

"**Oh, no, sir, no…Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven for this. If they ever knew, sir-"**

"**But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?"**

"**Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby always has to punish himself for something, sir. They let Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they remind me to do extra punishments …"**

"**But why don't you leave? Escape?"**

Harry looked over to Hermione and could tell she wasn't happy with this chapter, he could see her hand tightened into fists her eyes scowling at the two Malfoy men. Sighing he turned back to listen to Dumbledore continue reading, he kept watching Hermione as Dumbledore read that a house elf had to be set free by his owner

"**And I thought I had it bad staying here for another four weeks," He said. "This makes the Dursleys sound almost human.**

"I guess you could say that," said Lily thoughtfully, "But then they did treat you just as bad as a house elf so I'm not too sure,"

**Can't anyone help you? Can't I?" Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn't spoken. Dobby dissolved into wails of gratitude.**

"**Please," Harry whispered frantically, "please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they knew you were here-"**

"**Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby… Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew…"**

**Harry who was feeling hot in the face, said, "Whatever you heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish**. **"I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that's Hermione she-"**

**But he stopped quickly, because thinking of Hermione was painful.**

"Why was it painful for you to think of Granger?" Draco asked confused.

"Because I thought she had forgotten my birthday," Harry explained to him.

"**Harry Potter is humble and modest," said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow. "Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-"**

"**Voldermort?" said Harry**

**Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, "Ah, speak not the name, sir! Speak not the name!"**

"**Sorry," said Harry quickly. "I know lots of people who don't like it. My friend Ron-"**

**Dobby leaned toward Harry, his eyes wide as headlights.**

"**Dobby heard tell," He said hoarsely, "that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time just weeks ago… that Harry Potter escaped yet again."**

"How did Dobby find this out?" asked Peter, "House elves aren't supposed to know such things.

"No idea, the only thing possible is that he heard the Malfoy's talking about it.

**Harry nodded and Dobby eyes suddenly shone with tears.**

"**Ah, sir," he gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later… Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."**

"Why? This can't be good," said Lily slight panic in her voice. "What's going to happen this year? Harry Potter you better tell me!"

"I think Miss Evans you shouldn't panic too much the boy is alive and seems very healthy so it obviously can't be anything too serious." Said Professor McGonagall, but Hermione and Ron saw the look Harry and Dumbledore shared and they knew instantly that Dumbledore didn't think everything in this book was going to be just okay.

**There was a silence broken only by the clink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant rumble of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

"**W-what?" Harry stammered. "But I've got to go back- term starts on September first. It's all that's keeping me going. You don't know what it's like here. I don't belong here. I belong in your world-at Hogwarts."**

"**No, no, no," squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry Potter must stay were he's safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."**

"**Why? Harry said in surprise.**

"**There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry potter must not put himself into peril. He is too important, sir!"**

"Hold on a second, if Dobby knows the plot and he's the Malfoy's family elf what are the Malfoys playing at?" Sirius suddenly voiced, everyone's eyes turned on to Lucius.

"Why are you looking at me? I've no idea what's happening have I! I'm in the same situation as you lot here," Lucius argued fed up of everyone looking at him when something wasn't going well.

"Don't bother looking at me either I'm saying nothing just listen to the book," said Draco before anyone looked towards him for answers.

"**What terrible things?" said Harry at once "Who's plotting them?"**

**Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall.**

"**All right!' cried Harry, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell me. I understand. But why are you warning me?" A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. "Hang on- this hasn't got anything to do with Vol- sorry- with You Know Who, has it? You could just shake or nod," he added hastily as Dobby's head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.**

**Slowly, Dobby shook his head.**

"Oh thank god!" sighed Lily.

"**Not- not He-who-Must-Not Be-Named, sir-**" **But Dobby's eyes grew wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.**

"**He hasn't got a brother has he?"**

The group all looked towards Dumbledore waiting for an answer. "No Voldermort doesn't have a brother, he's an only child." He explained.

**Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.**

"**Well then, I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," said Harry. "I mean- there's Dumbledore for one thing, you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"**

**Dobby bowed his head. **

"**Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had."**

"**Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore's power's rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir." –Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent whisper, "There are power's Dumbledore doesn't… power's no decent wizard…"**

**And before Harry could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized Harry's desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with ear-splitting yelps.**

**A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later, Harry, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall calling, "Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!" **

"Oh no not the Dursleys!" gasped Alice terrified to how this was going to turn out.

"**Quick! In the closet!" hissed Harry, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned.**

"**What- the- devil- are- you doing?" said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth, his face horribly close to Harry's. "You just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke-"**

"I'm not being funny but I can't imagine it was going to be all that good anyway," Sirius chuckled.

"**One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born, boy!"**

**He stomped flat footed from the room.**

**Shaking, Harry let Dobby out of the closet.**

"**See what it's like here?" he said "See why I've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place I've got- well I think I've got friends"**

**Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" said Dobby shyly**

**I expect they've just been- wait a minute," said Harry frowning. "How do you know my friends haven't been writing to me?"**

**Dobby shuffled his feet.**

"Dobby has taken them, no wonder you didn't get our letters then." Ron said shaking his head slightly amused.

"**Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best-"**

"**Have you been stopping my letters?"**

"**Dobby has them here, sir"** **Said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of Harry's reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillow case he was wearing.**

**Harry could make out Hermione's neat handwriting; Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble as though it was from the Hogwarts game keeper, Hagrid.**

**Dobby blinked anxiously up at Harry.**

"**Harry Potter mustn't be angry… Dobby hoped… if Harry potter thought his friends had forgotten him… Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir…"**

**Harry wasn't listening. He made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.**

"**Harry Potter will have them, sir, if he gives Dobby his word that he will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back, sir!"**

"**No," said Harry angrily. "Give me my friends' letters!"**

"**Then Harry Potter leaves Dobby no choice," said the elf sadly**

**Before Harry could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted down the stairs.**

"Oh no this isn't good if Dobby goes down stairs the Dursleys will see them and you'll get into trouble," said Frank a little worried.

"Yeah but he obviously go to Hogwarts as the books are about his years at Hogwarts," said Snape speaking for the first time in the chapter.

**Mouth dry, stomach lurching, Harry sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. He jumped the last six steps, landing cat like on the hall carpet, looking around for Dobby. From the dining room he heard Uncle Vernon saying, "…tell Petunia about that very funny story about the American plumbers, Mr Mason, she's been dying to hear…"**

**Harry ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt his stomach disappear.**

**Aunt Petunia's master piece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugar violets, was floating up near the ceiling.**

"He isn't!" whispered the Marauders.

**On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.**

"**No" croaked Harry, "Please, they'll kill me"**

"**Harry Potter must say he's not going back to school."**

"**Dobby… please…"**

"**Say it, sir-"**

"**I can't-"**

**Dobby gave him a tragic look.**

"**Then Dobby must do it, sir, for Harry Potter own good."**

"How is that for his own good!" said Andromeda, "dropping the prize cake it's a clear display of magic in front of Muggles, Harry would be in more trouble than he could ever imagine.

**The pudding fell to the floor with a heart stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.**

"As if he just did that and then disappeared! If I ever get hold of that elf!" snapped James fuming over what happened.

"You've not got a lot of luck do you Potter," chuckled Regulus, Harry grinned and shook his head.

**There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find Harry, rigid with shock, covered head to foot with Aunt Petunia's pudding. At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss things over. ("Just our nephew- very disturbed- meeting strangers upsets him, so we kept him upstairs…"**

"Liar," muttered Lucius.

**He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry he would flay him to within an inch of his life when the masons had left and handed him a mop. Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the freezer and Harry, still shaking with, started scrubbing the kitchen clean.**

**Uncle Vernon still might have been able to make his deal – if it hadn't been for the owl.**

"An Owl? Oh no I know what Dobby has done." Narcissa said when 6 members of the group looked at her waiting for an answer. "It's obvious Harry is the only one in the house that can do Magic they'll have no idea that a house elf did it, and you know the rule magic is forbidden outside of Hogwarts if magic is to be done …"

"…Then a student is expelled from Hogwarts." finished Lily dread filling her stomach.

**Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window, dropped a letter on Mrs Mason's head, and swooped out again. Mrs Mason screamed liked a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics. Mr Mason stayed just long enough to tell the Dursleys that his wife was mortally afraid of birds of all shapes and sizes, and ask weather this was their idea of a joke.**

The group laughed, "can you imagine been scared of birds," chuckled Snape "stupid woman"

**Harry stood in the kitchen, clutching the mop for support, as Uncle Vernon advanced on him, a demonic glint in his tiny eyes.**

"**Read it!" he hissed evilly, brandishing the letter the owl had delivered. "Go on – read it!"**

**Harry took it. It did not contain birthday greetings.**

_**Dear Mr Potter,**_

_**We have received intelligence that a hover charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine.**_

_**As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to preform spells outside of school, and further spell work on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, paragraph C).**_

_**We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offence under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.**_

_**Enjoy you holiday's!**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Mafalda Hopkirk**_

_**IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE **_

_**Ministry of Magic**_

**Harry looked up from the letter and gulped.**

"**You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside of school," said Uncle Vernon, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes. "Forgot to mention it… sipped your mind, I dare say…"**

**He was bearing down on Harry like a great bulldog, all his teeth bared. "Well, I've got news for you boy… I'm locking you up**

"What that's inhuman he cannot do such a thing!" yelled Hermione. "Even in the medieval times they didn't do that to their own family, that man, that man better not run into me when we get home cause then he will have something to fear about magic," Harry and Ron looked to Hermione not saying anything they had learnt a long time ago not to interrupt Hermione when she was on a rant.

"… **You're never going back to that school… never… and if you try to magic yourself out – they'll expel you!"** **and laughing like a maniac, he dragged Harry back upstairs.**

**Uncle Vernon was as bad as his words. The following morning, he paid a man to fit bars on his windows.** **He himself fitted a cat-flap in the bedroom door, so that small amounts could be pushed inside three times a day. They let Harry out to use the bathroom morning and evening. Otherwise, he was locked in his room around the cloak.**

"I don't care what you said earlier that house elf is better looked after than you!" said Neville annoyed he didn't know that things had gotten so bad at the Dursleys. Hermione and Ron were scowling at Harry and Professor McGonagall was looking at Dumbledore with such anger that if looks could kill the Headmaster would have blown up on the spot.

"It's shocking we all thought that Potter lived the perfect life and to discover that he was treated worse than a house elf it doesn't make sense," said Draco confused and his beliefs were changing and it confused him.

**Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry couldn't see any way out of this situation. He lay on his bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to him.**

**What was the good of using magic to get himself out of his room if Hogwarts was going to expel him for doing it? Yet life at Privet drive left an all-time low**. **Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved him from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he'd probably starve to death anyway.**

"I'll kill them!" Lily snapped angrily.

"Listen you won't have to do that if you listen to what we have to say and change the future I won't have to live with the Dursley would I?" said Harry and it allowed everyone to think that there decision would change the future for every person in the room.

**The cat-flap rattled and Aunt Petunia's hand appeared pushing a bowl of canned soup into the room. Harry, whose insides were aching with hunger, jumped off his bed and seized it. The soup was stone-cold, but he drank half of it in one gulp. Then he crossed the room to Hedwig's cage and tipped the soggy vegetables at the bottom at the bowl into her empty food tray.**

"They are starving him Albus if you ever come to me with this idea I'll bloody well kill you! This is the most stupid ridiculous idea I've ever heard you say and you've had some stupid ones how could you be so…" professor McGonagall continued to rant at the Headmaster who sat there looking a little uncomfortable and slightly guilty. As Harry looked around the group he could see a range of emotions, most were anger but there were some with confusion, pity, guilt and determination. He looked at Hermione and Ron and the trio shared a smile it was the first time they believed that the future could be changed.

**She ruffled her feathers and gave him a look of deep disgust.**

"**It's no good turning your beak up at it – that's all we got," said Harry grimly**

**He put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat-flap and lay back down on the bed, somehow even hungrier than he had been before the soup.**

**Supposing he was still alive in another four weeks, what would happen if he didn't turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why he hadn't come back? Would they be able to the Dursleys let him go?**

**The room was growing dark. Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep.**

"I guess you could say it could only get better," chuckled Ron winking at Harry who knew what he meant.

**He dreamed that he was on show in a zoo, with a card reading UNDERAGE WIZARD attached to his cage. People goggled through the bars at him as he lay, starving and weak, on a bed of straw. He saw Dobby's face in the crowd and shouted out for help, but Dobby called, "Harry Potter is safe there, sir!" and vanished. Then the Dursleys appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at him.**

"**Stop it," muttered Harry as the rattling pounded in his sore head. "Leave me alone… cut it out… I'm trying to sleep…"**

**He opened his eyes. Moonlight was shining through the bars of the window. And someone was goggling through the bars of the window at him: a freckled face, red-haired, long-nosed someone.**

"It can't be," said Bellatrix everyone thinking the same as her, all eyes looking straight at Ron who was looking rather smug. "Ron Weasley was outside Harry's window." Dumbledore finished looking at Ron with a grin.

"Weasley how the hell are you looking through the top window of a house?" said Andromeda confused, "you are tall but you're not that tall!"

"I guess we'll have to read the next chapter to find out," said Ron smirking.

"Well you heard the boy let's move on to the next chapter," Professor McGonagall said.

* * *

**What you think? Reviews are appreciated!  
Thanks guys**


	3. The Burrow

**Firstly a big thankyou to Potterfan595 who was so kind to write out the book part of this chapter. So here you go the next chapter.**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the idea, nor am I making any profit from this. This story is just for the entertainment of the readers.**

* * *

**The Burrow**

"Who wants to read the next chapter then?" asked Harry.

"Well other than Ginny I'm the only one to not have read, so I guess it's my turn?" Andromeda informed and took hold of the book.

"Have we really been through everybody then?" said Bellatrix who had lost count.

"Yes, so if we are ready I'll begin," said Andromeda, "this chapter is called **The Burrow**"

"Isn't that your home Weasley?" Draco asked the red head who nodded. "Well this chapter is obvious, Potter is going to leave the Dursleys and head to the Weasley's home.

**"Ron!" breathed Harry, creeping to the window and pushing it up so they could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you — What the — ?"**

**Harry's mouth fell open as the full impact of what he was seeing hit him. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car, which was parked in mid-air.**

"You're in a flying car?" said Severus surprised, "how did you get it to fly?"

"You'll find out later on in the chapter I think," chuckled Ron.

**Grinning at Harry from the front seats were Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers.**

**"All right, Harry?" asked George.**

**"What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles —"**

**"It wasn't me — and how did he know?"**

**"He works for the Ministry," said Ron. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school —"**

**"You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car.**

**"Oh, this doesn't count," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with —"**

**"I told you, I didn't — but it'll take too long to explain now — look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so —"**

"Bloody Muggles," muttered James quietly under his breath, he had met Petunia Evans and had taken an instant dislike to her and now he could see why.

**"Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us."**

**"But you can't magic me out either —"**

**"We don't need to," said Ron, jerking his head toward the front seat and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me."**

**"Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to Harry.**

**"If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," said Harry as he tied the rope tightly around a bar  
and Fred revved up the car.**

**"Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."**

**Harry moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent. The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up in the air. Harry ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ron hoisted them up into the car. Harry listened anxiously, but there was no sound from the Dursleys' bedroom.**

**When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to Harry's window.**

**"Get in," Ron said.**

**"But all my Hogwarts stuff — my wand — my broomstick —"**

**"Where is it?"**

**"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room —"**

**"No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way, Harry."**

**Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into Harry's room. You had to hand it to them, thought Harry, as George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.**

"Muggle trick," said Hermione slightly impressed, "how did the Dursleys not wake to the noise anyway Harry?"

"No idea, it was really loud they must have heard it,"

"Petunia is a light sleeper so she would have heard it." Lily said.

**"A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow"**

**There was a small click and the door swung open.**

**"So — we'll get your trunk — you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to Ron," whispered George.**

**"Watch out for the bottom stair — it creaks," Harry whispered back as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.**

**Harry dashed around his room, collecting his things and passing them out of the window to Ron. Then he went to help Fred and George heave his trunk up the stairs. Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough.**

**At last, panting, they reached the landing, and then carried the trunk through Harry's room to the open window. Fred climbed back into the car to pull with Ron, and Harry and George pushed from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunk slid through the window.**

**Uncle Vernon coughed again.**

**"A bit more," panted Fred, who was pulling from inside the car. "One good push —"  
Harry and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car.**

**"Okay, let's go," George whispered.**

**But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill there came a sudden loud screech from behind him, followed immediately by the thunder of Uncle Vernon's voice.**

**"THAT RUDDY OWL!"**

**"I've forgotten Hedwig!"**

**Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on — he snatched up Hedwig's cage, dashed to the window, and passed it out to Ron. He was scrambling back onto the chest of drawers when Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door — and it crashed open.**

"Oh no," Alice whispered, "so close,"

**For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle.**

**Ron, Fred, and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could.**

**"Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"**

**But the Weasleys gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Uncle Vernon's grasp — Harry was in the car — he'd slammed the door shut —**

**"Put your foot down, Fred!" yelled Ron, and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.**

**Harry couldn't believe it — he was free. He rolled down the window, the night air whipping his hair, and looked back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all hanging, dumbstruck, out of Harry's window.**

"That was too close!" said Remus, "You're defiantly lucky Potter."

"So I've been told," Harry laughed.

**"See you next summer!" Harry yelled.**

**The Weasleys roared with laughter and Harry settled back in his seat, grinning from ear to ear.**

**"Let Hedwig out," he told Ron. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages."**

"Poor thing, it's cruel to keep an owl locked up like that," said Narcissa.

"You a fan of animals?" Hermione asked the blonde witch.

"I love them, I'm strongly against animal cruelty." She informed them which surprised Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville. Draco saw the surprised looks on their faces and smirked.

"We're not all evil you know,"

"Sorry it's just a bit of a surprise you know," admitted Neville sheepishly.

**George handed the hairpin to Ron and, a moment later, Hedwig soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost.**

**"So — what's the story, Harry?" said Ron impatiently. "What's been happening?"**

**Harry told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry and the fiasco of the violet pudding. There was a long, shocked silence when he had finished.**

**"Very fishy," said Fred finally.**

**"Definitely dodgy," agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"**

**"I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip; he started banging his head against the wall."**

**He saw Fred and George look at each other.**

**"What, you think he was lying to me?" said Harry.**

**"Well," said Fred, "put it this way — house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"**

**"Yes," said Harry and Ron together, instantly.**

**"Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "He hates me."**

"I like how you think I've so much power there Potter," chuckled Draco, "however seeing as you all now it's my family house elf it does look bad on us, but my father wouldn't have wanted Dobby to know what was happening, hell even I didn't know what was going to happen.

**"Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning around. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"**

**"Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry. "Why?"**

**"I've heard Dad talking about him," said George. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."**

**"And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred, craning around to look at Harry, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung — Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle."**

Lucius glanced over to Dumbledore who's features had darkened while he scribbled on his parchment. Malfoy senior was positive that Dumbledore was writing down he was a deatheater. His final year at Hogwarts would be spent with the Headmaster watching over at him at every second.

**Harry had heard these rumours about Malfoy's family before, and they didn't surprise him at all. Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy.**

"Cheers," Draco said sarcastically.

**"I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf. . . ." said Harry.**

**"Well, whoever owns him will be an old Wizarding family, and they'll be rich," said Fred."**

**"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house. . . ."**

**Harry was silent. Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually had the best of everything, his family was rolling in wizard gold; he could just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house. Sending the family servant to stop Harry from going back to Hogwarts also sounded exactly like the sort of thing Malfoy would do. Had Harry been stupid to take Dobby seriously?**

"I think you should take his word seriously," Said Professor McGonagall, before realising she was now talking to a book and closed her mouth quickly.

"It's catching Professor," joked James receiving a scowl off the Professor/

**"I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first —"**

**"Who's Errol?"**

**"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes —"**

**"Who?"**

**"The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect," said Fred from the front.**

**"But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."**

**"Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room. . . . I mean, there are only so many times you can polish a prefect badge. . . . You're driving too far west, Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard. Fred twiddled the steering wheel.**

**"So, does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry, guessing the answer.**

**"Er, no," said Ron, "he had to work tonight. Hopefully"**

**"We'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it."**

**"What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?"**

**"He works in the most boring department," said Ron. "The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."**

**"The what?"**

**"It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare — Dad was working overtime for weeks."**

**"What happened?"**

**"The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place and one man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose. Dad was going frantic — it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office — and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up —"**

"Sounds like an important job really," said Frank, when he saw the Slytherin's look at him weird he explained. "If a Muggle who had no idea about anything Wizard related received a magical item, can you imagine the controversy that we'd suffer if it got broadcasted in the Muggle World, we'd have armies coming to attack us to try and take over our magic.

"I never thought of it like that," said Regulus, "I guess the job your dad does is pretty important Weasley," Both Ginny and Ron's faces were bright red and slightly embarrassed amusing Hermione, Neville, Harry and Draco.

**"But your dad — this car —"**

**Fred laughed. "Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest. It drives Mum mad."**

**"That's the main road," said George, peering down through the windshield. "We'll be there in ten minutes. . . Just as well, it's getting light. . . ." ****A faint pinkish glow was visible along the horizon to the east.**

**Fred brought the car lower, and Harry saw a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.**

"Pilots train for years to bring down a plane and Fred who's only in his fourth year is able to bring down a car," said Hermione shocked shaking her head.

"A plane?" asked Bellatrix.

"A large flying machine that carries people through the air mostly used to take people on holiday," explained Harry before Hermione had chance to explain.

**"We're a little way outside the village," said George. "Ottery St. Catchpole."**

**Lower and lower went the flying car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.**

**"Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground. They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard, and Harry looked out for the first time at Ron's house."**

**It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (which, Harry reminded himself, it probably was). **

"Yeah it was," chuckled Ginny, "I think they did it when I was born because there wasn't enough room,"

**Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.**

**"It's not much," said Ron.**

**"It's wonderful," said Harry happily, thinking of Privet Drive.**

**They got out of the car.**

**"Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast. Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, 'Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and no one need ever know we flew the car."**

**"Right," said Ron. "Come on, Harry, I sleep at the — at the top —"**

**Ron had gone a nasty greenish colour, his eyes fixed on the house. The other three wheeled around.**

**Mrs Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a sabre-toothed tiger.**

"Someone is in trouble," said Narcissa chuckling.

"A floor to your plan," said Peter and Ron nodded.

**"Ah," said Fred.**

**"Oh, dear," said George.**

**Mrs Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next.**

**She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.**

**"So," she said.**

**"Morning Mum," said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.**

**"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs Weasley in a deadly whisper.**

**"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to —"**

**All three of Mrs Weasley's sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them.**

"Short women can be very scary," admitted Neville thinking of his gran.

**"Beds empty! No note! Car gone — could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? — never, as long as I've lived — you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy —"**

**"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.**

**"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs Weasley, prodding a finger in ****Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job —"**

**It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry, who backed away.**

**"I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, dear," she said. "Come in and have some breakfast."**

"How can someone's temper change so drastically, she yelled and screamed at her children and then was able to turn to Harry and be the nicest person ever.

**She turned and walked back into the house and Harry, after a nervous glance at Ron, who nodded encouragingly, followed her.**

**The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, and Harry sat down on the edge of his seat, looking around. He had never been in a wizard house before.**

**The clock on the wall opposite him had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and you're late.**

"That's a pretty cool clock," admitted Bellatrix.

"You think so?" asked Ginny in shock, never did she expect Bellatrix Lestrange to say something nice about a Weasley.

**Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts — it's Magic! And unless Harry's ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was "Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck."**

**Mrs Weasley was clattering around, cooking breakfast a little haphazardly, throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausages into the frying pan. Every now and then she muttered things like "don't know what you were thinking of," and "never would have believed it."**

**"I don't blame you, dear," she assured Harry, tipping eight or nine sausages onto his plate. **

"You never go hungry at the Weasley's that is for sure," admitted Harry smiling at Ron and Ginny.

**"Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday. But really" (she was now adding three fried eggs to his plate), "flying an illegal car halfway across the country — anyone could have seen you —"**

**She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background.**

**"It was cloudy, Mum!" said Fred."**

**"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs Weasley snapped.**

**"They were starving him, Mum!" said George.**

**"And you!" said Mrs Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him.**

**At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, which appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.**

"Ginny," cried Hermione, "I didn't know you were a squealer," she teased.

"Shut up Mione," she muttered annoyed

**"Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."**

**"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with "Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin, but he caught his mother's eye and bent his face over his plate without another word. Nothing more was said until all four plates were clean, which took a surprisingly short time.**

**"Blimey, I'm tired," yawned Fred, setting down his knife and fork at last. "I think I'll go to bed and —"**

**"You will not," snapped Mrs Weasley. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me; they're getting completely out of hand again —"**

**"Oh, Mum —"**

**"And you two," she said, glaring at Ron and George. "You can go up to bed, dear," she added to Harry. "You didn't ask "them to fly that wretched car —"**

**But Harry, who felt wide awake, said quickly, "I'll help Ron. I've never seen a de-gnoming —"**

**"That's very sweet of you, dear, but it's dull work," said Mrs Weasley. "Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject —"**

**And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantelpiece. George groaned.**

**"Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden —"**

**Harry looked at the cover of Mrs Weasley's book. Written across it in fancy gold letters were the words Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. There was a big photograph on the front of a very good-looking wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. As always in the Wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, who Harry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up at them all. Mrs Weasley beamed down at him."**

"I forgot about Lockhart," groaned Neville.

"Lockhart, is he important in this book?" Snape asked, and the six from the future nodded.

"You're gonna hear an awful lot about Lockhart," mumbled Harry.

**"Oh, he is marvellous," she said. "He knows his household pests, all right; it's a wonderful book. . . ."**

**"Mum fancies him," said Fred, in a very audible whisper.**

**"Don't be so ridiculous, Fred," said Mrs Weasley, her cheeks rather pink. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can go and get on with it, and woe betides you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."**

**Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry behind them. The garden was large, and in Harry's eyes, exactly what a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it — there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting — but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs.**

**"Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron as they crossed the lawn.**

**"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods. . . ."**

**There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly.**

**"Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome.**

**It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down.**

"They're really ugly creatures are gnomes, and I think your description of them Harry is very true," said Sirius. "We used to get them and mother hated them, I remember when Regulus was young and I took hold of one and chased him around with it in my hand," Sirius laughed, but Regulus just scowled.

"I remember you being in serious trouble when mother found out," said Regulus smirking remembering Sirius being pushed up the stairs and into his room.

**"This is what you have to do," he said. He raised the gnome above his head ("Gerroff me!") and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso. Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face, Ron added, "It doesn't hurt them — you've just got "to make them really dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnome holes."  
He let go of the gnome's ankles: It flew twenty feet into the air and landed with a thud in the field over the hedge.**

**"Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."**

**Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes. He decided just to drop the first one he caught over the hedge, but the gnome, sensing weakness, sank its razor-sharp teeth into Harry's finger and he had a hard job shaking it off — until —**

**"Wow, Harry — that must've been fifty feet. . . ."**

**The air was soon thick with flying gnomes.**

**"See, they're not too bright," said George, seizing five or six gnomes at once. "The moment they know the de-gnoming's going on they will storm up to have a look. You'd think they'd have learned by now just to stay put."**

**Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched.**

**"They'll be back," said Ron as they watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. "They love it here. . . . Dad's too soft with them; he thinks they're funny. . . ."  
Just then, the front door slammed.**

**"He's back!" said George. "Dad's home!"**

"Will your father yell at you for flying the car?" asked Lucius.

"You'll see," said Ron smirking.

**They hurried through the garden and back into the house.**

**Mr Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes, which were dusty and travel-worn.**

**"What a night," he mumbled, groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned. . . ."**

**Mr Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sighed.**

**"Find anything, Dad?" said Fred eagerly. **

**"All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness. . . ."**

**"Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" said George.**

**"Just Muggle-baiting," sighed Mr Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it. . . . Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking — they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face. . . . But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe —"**

**"LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?"**

"I was waiting for that," laughed Alice.**  
Mrs Weasley had appeared, holding a long poker like a sword. Mr Weasley's eyes jerked open. He stared guiltily at his wife.**

**"C-cars, Molly, dear?"**

**"Yes, Arthur, cars," said Mrs Weasley, her eyes flashing. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."**

**Mr Weasley blinked.**

**"Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if — er — he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth. . . . There's a loophole in the law, you'll find. . . . As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't —"**

**"Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" shouted Mrs Weasley. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"**

**"Harry?" said Mr Weasley blankly. "Harry who?"**

**He looked around, saw Harry, and jumped.**

**"Good lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about —"**

**"Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!" shouted Mrs Weasley. "What have you got to say about that, eh?"**

**"Did you really?" said Mr Weasley eagerly. "Did it go all right? I — I mean," he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs Weasley's eyes, "that — that was very wrong, boys — very wrong indeed. . . ."**

Everyone in the room laughed, it was obvious for everyone to see that Mr Weasley was not the boss of the family and a little more relaxed about stuff unlike his wife who could be angered very quickly.

**"Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry as Mrs Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."**

**They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which wound its way, zigzagging up through the house. On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.**

**"Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally —"**

**They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying RONALD'S ROOM.**

"Do you really need a plaque on the wall saying whose room it is or is it really that confusing in your house?" said Draco smirking.

"Shut up Malfoy," snapped Ginny angrily.

**Harry stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, and blinked. It was like walking into a furnace: Nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange: the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling. Then Harry realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks, and waving energetically.**

**"Your Quidditch team?" said Harry.**

**"The Chudley Cannons," said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league."**

"So it's the bottom team in the league then?" chuckled Snape, the Chudley Cannons weren't good in his time so he couldn't imagine them being any better.

**Ron's school spell books were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics that all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fish tank full of frog spawn on the windowsill, next to his fat grey rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.  
Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the Weasleys' hedge.**

"So that's how they get back in," muttered Ron and Ginny together finally discovering how the gnomes were able to get back into the garden so easily.

**Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion.**

**"It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging on the pipes and groaning. . . ."**

**But Harry, grinning widely, said, "This is the best house I've ever been in."**

**Ron's ears went pink.**

"That's the end of the chapter," said Andromeda, "I liked this one, nothing too serious and you get to see more of the Weasley's lifestyle.

"Did you really mean it's the best house you'd ever been in?" asked Ginny and Harry nodded.

"I wonder what the next chapter will be about," said Remus.

"How about we start reading the next one and we'll find out," said Neville smiling.

* * *

**What you all think? I'll try and get the next one up soon thanks for reading.**


	4. At Flourish and Blotts

**Here is the next chapter enjoy everyone :)**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the idea, nor am I making any profit from this. This story is just for the entertainment of the readers.**

* * *

**A****t Flourish and Blotts**

"So far I quite like this book," said Alice, "we've already got a feeling something bad is going to happen and we know Dobby and Hogwarts are involved."

"I know what you mean, I have a feeling this story will be pretty important for the future years," explained James.

"Why do you think that though James?" asked Hermione knowing he was close to the truth.

"I don't know Hermione there is just something about Dobby's warning and the book title that makes me think that this is going to be a pretty important book," Hermione smiled and glanced towards Harry and Ron who were smirking. "Am I right?" he asked.

"I'm saying either yes or no, whatever answer I give will ruin the story so you'll have to wait and find out."

"Okay then so moving on, who would like to read the next chapter?" asked Ron, nobody volunteered so he looked over to Ginny. "You're the only one not to have read yet Gin, I'd say it's your turn."

"Well if nobody wants to read this chapter then I'll do it." Ginny took the book and opened to the next page. "**At Flourish and Blotts**," she said looking up towards Lucius Malfoy before shifting her gaze quickly.

"What could be so important at Flourish and Blotts that there is a chapter title about it?" Regulus said frowning, from what he could remember Flourish and Blotts was the store that he always bought his school books from.

"Why don't I read and you'll find out," said Ginny clearing her voice.

**Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life on Privet Drive.** **The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered; The Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected. Harry got a shock the first time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece and it shouted, "Tuck your shirt in, Scruffy!" The ghoul howled and dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet, and small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal. What Harry found most unusual at Ron's, however, wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul: It was the fact that everybody there seemed to like him.**

"Oh Harry you really did have so little confidence in yourself," said Lily saddened by the status, both James and herself were pretty confident people, so to hear her son felt so little of himself was hurtful.

"I guess when you grow up and you are made to believe you're not wanted and nobody cares about you then you begin to believe it yourself. So when I started Hogwarts it was strange for me that people cared and wanted to be my friend. I took me around 2 or 3 years to finally accept this." He stated with a slanted smile directed towards Lily.

**Mrs Weasley fussed over the state of his socks and tried to force him to eat fourth helpings at every meal. Mr Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so he could bombard him with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked.**

Ginny stopped reading and shook her head smiling, "that's good all dad," she thought to herself.

"**Fascinating." He would say as Harry talked him through using the telephone. "Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic."**

**Harry heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after he had arrived at the Burrow. He and Ron went downstairs to breakfast to find Mr and Mrs Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table. The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge to the floor with a loud clatter. Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room. She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerge with her face glowing like the setting sun.**

**Pretending he hadn't noticed this, Harry sat down and took the toast Mrs Weasley offered him.**

"**Letters from school," said Mr Weasley, passing Harry and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry – doesn't miss a trick, that man. You two've got them too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pyjamas.**

"I bet you were surprised to receive a letter from Hogwarts after hearing you were expelled Harry," said Narcissa and Harry nodded smiling at the blonde witch**.**

**For a few minutes there was silence as they read their letters.** **Harry's told him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross on September first. There was also a list of new books he'd need for the coming year.**

**SECOND YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE: **

**The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk **

**Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**43 Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Wandering with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Harry's.**

"Oh well that's a wide selection of books there," said Sirius sarcastically.

"**You've been told to get all the Lockhart's books too!" he said. "The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan – bet it's a witch."**

**At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.**

"**That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive…"**

"**Well. We'll manage," said Mrs Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up Ginny's things second hand." **

"**Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.**

**She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish.**

"Defiantly sounds as young Ginny had a crush on Harry when she was younger," chuckled Remus, Ginny's face turned a shade of cherry red scowling at the werewolf. She could see Lily scowling glancing between Harry and Ginny, once again she cleared her throat and continued to read.

**Fortunately no one saw this except Harry, because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.**

"**Morning all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."**

**He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a malting, grey feather duster at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing.**

"**Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl** **from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally – he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."**

**He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron lay him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:**

**_Dear Ron and Harry if you're there,_**

**_I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too._**

**_I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off._**

**_I'm very busy with school work, of course-_**

"**How can she be" said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation!"**

"Well that's Granger for you," laughed Draco receiving a cold glare from the bushy brunette but he brushed the glare away.

**_And we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley? Let me know as soon as you can._**

**_Love from Hermione._**

"**Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're all up to today?"**

**Harry, Ron, Fred and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned. It was surrounded by trees that blocked it from the view of the village below, meaning that they could practice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high. **

**They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been too hard to explain if they had escaped and flown over the village; instead they strew apples for one another to catch. They took turns on Harry's Nimbus 2000, which was easily the best broom; Ron's old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.**

**Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy. Harry had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut up in his room the rest of the time.**

"**Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred, frowning. "He's not himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all."**

"12 O.W.L.s and he didn't gloat, hell if I had gotten 12 O.W.L.s you could count on me gloating," said Lucius shocked.

"Why how many did you get?" Draco asked, his father never spoke about his time at Hogwarts unless he was insulting Dumbledore.

"I got 7 O.W.L.s, my father was deeply disappointed, us Malfoy's have to be the best he used to say, no Mudblood or blood traitor should become higher than us," he drawled.

"Funny," said Draco, "that's the same thing you said to me when I told you I had 10 O.W.L.s and you found out that Granger got 12." Lucius stayed quiet thinking about the words that Draco had said, it scared him that he had become his father and installed the same nonsense into his son's head that his father used to penetrate into his own. The scary thing was, he wondered what had made him change his mind and as he glanced down to his left arm which he knew was pale with no dark mark disfiguring the complexion, he wondered how long that would stay.

"**Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained, seeing Harry's puzzled look. "Bill got twelve too. If were not careful, we'll have another Head Boy in the family.**

**I don't think I could stand the shame."**

Dumbledore smiled, he was already looking forward for the day the Weasley twins entered Hogwarts but he knew that Minerva McGonagall was dreading it and even though it was slightly Slytherin on his part he looked forward to that just as much.

**Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Harry had never met either of them, but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and** **Bill in Egypt working for the wizard's bank, Gringotts. **

"**Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything…"**

**Harry said nothing. He felt a bit awkward. Stored at an underground vault at Gringotts in London was a small fortune that his parents had left him.**

"Only one?" James said confused.

"Yeah one, why how many should I have?" Harry asked confused.

"Well you should have 3, one would be the Potter vault this is the wealth of the Potter estate, second there'll be Lily's and mine which will have been left to you in our death and then finally your own, it's a tradition in our family that when a child is born they automatically have a vault set up in Gringotts." James explained watching Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione's jaws drop upon hearing the news.

"I never knew," muttered Harry silently. "If I marry then what happens to the vaults?"

"Well you have two options you either create a joint vault combining both yours and your partners wealth or the wealthiest partner adds their partner to their vault. The first one is more popular however." James informed.

**Of course, it was only in the Wizarding world that he had money; you couldn't use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in Muggle shops. He never mentioned his Gringotts bank account to the Dursleys; he didn't think their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a large pile of gold.**

"You'd probably have nothing left, don't ever tell them about it Harry," Andromeda said, "Muggles who don't understand Wizarding currency are fuelled by greed and your Uncle and Aunty are greedy enough as it is,"

**Mrs Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After a quick a half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.**

"**We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today… Ah well, guest first! After you, Harry dear!"**

**And she offered him the flowerpot. Harry stared at them all watching him.**

"**W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.**

"**He's never travelled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."**

"**Never?" said Mr Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"**

"**I went underground-"**

"**Really?" said Mr Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? How exactly-"**

"**Not now, Arthur," said Mrs Weasley. "Floo powder is a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before-"**

"**He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."**

**He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.**

"**You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs Weasley told Harry as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right gate."**

"**The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.**

"**Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly-"**

"**He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder too.**

"**But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his Aunt and Uncle?"**

"**They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up in a chimney, don't worry about that-"**

"Can you imagine it." chuckled Hermione, "We need the chosen one, the one to defeat Lord Voldermort, where is he. Oh yeah he's lost in the chimney somewhere can someone go and find him please. We'd be doomed," those from the present laughed but the other's stared in slight shock, fear and amazement that the young boy in front of them would defeat Lord Voldermort once and for all.

"**Well… all right… you go after Arthur," said Mrs Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going."**

"**And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised**

"**And your eyes shut," said Mrs Weasley. "The soot-"**

"**Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out the wrong fireplace-"**

"**But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George" Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth a immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.**

"Oh no, once you do that you begin to cough and your words come out wrong, why do I get the impression he's not going to end up in the right place," groaned Lily, "you are just prone to bad luck,"

"I always knew I was unlucky but reading these back I didn't realise how unlucky I was," Harry said shaking his head slightly.

"Your father went looking for trouble you on the other hand are a magnet for trouble Mr Potter," Said Professor McGonagall wisely, "Whatever will I do with you when you get to Hogwarts,"

"I'd worry more about the damage Fred and George could get up to Professor instead of worrying about what we are doing," said Ron smirking, he knew if Professor McGonagall tried to watch them she would fail.

"**D-Dia-Diagon Alley," he coughed.**

**It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain.**

**He seemed to be spinning very fast – the roaring in his ears was deafening – he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick – something hard knocked into his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning – now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face – squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred steam of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond – his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him – he closed his eyes again, wishing it would stop, and then… he fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap.**

"Wow what a perfect description of the horrid feeling traveling by Floo is," said Bellatrix who also hated floo powder travelling, she was grateful that she had passed her apparition test first time.

**Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his face. He was quite alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All that he could tell that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop – but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list**

**A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a blood stained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye.** **Evil-looking masks from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling.** **Even worse, the dark, narrow street Harry could see through the dusty window shop was definitely not Diagon Alley.**

"It sounds like Borgin and Burkes Harry," said Regulus who had been dragged to that store on many occasions by his father.

**The sooner he got of there, the better.** **Nose still stinging where it hit the earth, Harry made his way swiftly and silently towards the door, but before he got halfway toward it, two people appeared on the other side of the glass – and one of them was the very last person Harry wanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy.**

"Oh dear," the boy in question muttered, "wait you were there all the time?" Harry nodded causing Draco to roll his eyes and look towards Lucius who was beginning to dislike these looks.

**Harry looked quickly around and spotted a black cabinet to his left; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crack to peer through.**

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" asked Hermione her facing going pale looking between Draco and Harry.

"I think it is," Draco whispered silently.

"I was in it all those years before," Harry said in shock. "Ginny keep reading please," as he noticed everyone was looking at him confused. Waiting for a moment she glanced at Harry again and then did as he said.

**He had the same pale, pointed face and identical cold, grey eyes. Mr Malfoy crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on the counter before turning to his son and saying, "Touch nothing, Draco."**

**Malfoy, who had reached to the glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."**

"**I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter.**

"**What's of that if I'm not allowed on the house team?" said Malfoy, looking sulky and bad-tempered. "Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor.** **He's not even that good, it's just because he's famous**… **famous for having some stupid scar on his forehead…"** **Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.** "… **Everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and broomstick-"**

"Someone's jealous," Sirius taunted highly smirking towards Draco who huffed looking away, he hated it whenever he appeared in the book. He made himself out to be wining spoilt child. Yes he was spoilt but he didn't need to remember that his younger self was pretty pathetic.

"**You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. "And I would remind you that it is not- prudent –less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind made him out as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear – ah, Mr Borgin." **

**A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.**

"**Mr Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted – and young Mr Malfoy too – charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today and very reasonably priced-"**

"**I'm not buying today, Mr Borgin, but selling," said Mr Malfoy.**

"**Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr Borgin's face.**

"**You have heard, of course, that the ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr Malfoy, taking a piece of parchment from his inside pocket and unravelling it for Mr Borgin to read. "I have a few – ah – items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call…"**

**Mr Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.**

"**The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"** **Mr Malfoy's lip curled.**

"**I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumours about a new Muggle Protection Act – no doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it-"** **Harry felt hot surge of anger.**

"Cheers mate," Ron said patting Harry on the back before glaring over to Lucius who shrunk back a little, he really wished he wasn't in this book. His future self reminded him so much of his father that it scared him.

"– **and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear - "**

"**I understand, sir, of course," said Mr Borgin. "Let me see…"**

"**Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion.**

"**Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr Borgin, abandoning Mr Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder!** **Best friend of thieves and plunders!** **Your son has find taste, sir."**

"**I hope my son will amount to more than thief or a plunderer, Borgin," said Mr Malfoy coldly, and Mr Borgin said quickly, "No offence, sir, no offence meant-**"

"**Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr Malfoy, more coldly still, "That may be all he is fit for-"**

"**It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favourites, that Hermione Granger-"**

"**I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam," snapped Mr Malfoy.**

"**Ha!" Harry said under his breath, pleased to see Draco looking abashed and angry.**

"**It's the same all over," said Mr Borgin, in his oily voice. "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere-"**

"**Not with me," said Mr Malfoy, his long nostrils flaring.**

"**No, sir, nor with me, sir," said Mr Borgin, with a deep bow.**

"I dunno if he agrees with that statement," said Remus, "I get the impression that Lucius here holds a certain degree of fear in the Wizarding world,"

"He did I wouldn't say he's very fearful now," spoke Neville, "times have changed for the Malfoy family right Draco?" Draco said nothing but nodded his head stiffly.

"**In that case, perhaps we can return to my list," said Mr Malfoy shortly. "I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today-"**

**They started to haggle. Harry watched nervously as Draco drew nearer and nearer to his hiding place, examining the objects for sale. Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card popped on a magnificent necklace of opals, Caution: Do Not Touch – Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggles Owner to Date.**

**Draco turned away and saw the cabinet right in front of him. He walked forward – stretching out his hand for the handle "Done," said Mr Malfoy at the counter. "Come, Draco-"**

"You speak to him like he's a dog," snapped Narcissa scowling at her future husband.

**Harry wiped his forehead on his sleeve as Draco turned away.**

**Good day to you, Mr Borgin. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods."**

**The moment the door had closed, Mr Borgin dropped his oily manner.**

"**Good day to yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manner…" Muttering darkly, Mr Borgin disappeared into a back room. **

"I wonder what you are hiding Lucius," Snape whispered to the man beside him, "Or should I call you Abraxas?" Lucius scowled coldly at his friend turning his head away from the smirking body beside him. He would do anything not to become the cold, hateful man back at his family home.

**Harry waited for a minute in case he came back, then, quietly as he could, slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases, and out of the door shop. Clutching his broken glasses to his face, Harry stared around. He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. The one he'd just left, Borgin and Burkes, looked like the largest, but opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders. **

**Two shabby-looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway, muttering to each other. Feeling jumpy, Harry set off, trying to hold his glasses on straight and hoping against hope he'd be able to find a way out of here.** **An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told him he was in Knockturn Alley.** **This didn't help, as Harry had never heard such a place. He supposed he hadn't spoken clearly enough through his mouth full of ashes back in the Weasleys' fire. Trying to stay calm, he wondered what to do.**

"**Not lost are you, my dear?" said voices in his ear, making him jump.**

"**I'm fine, thanks," he said. "I'm just-"**

"**HARRY! What d'yeh think your doin' down there?"**

**Harry's heart leapt. So did the witch; a load of fingernails cascaded down over her feet and she cursed as the massive form of Hagrid, the Hogwarts' gamekeeper, came striding toward them, beetle-black eyes flashing over his great bristled beard.**

"Wait a minute why is Hagrid in Knockturn Alley?" said Peter confused looking to the teachers for an answer but both members of faculty couldn't answer his question.

"**Hagrid!" Harry croaked in relief. "Was lost – Floo Powder -"**

**Hagrid seized Harry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away from the witch, knocking the tray right out of her hands. Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into the bright sunlight. Harry saw a familiar, snow-white marble building in the distance – Gringotts Bank. Hagrid had steered him right into Diagon Alley.**

"**Yer a mess!" said Hagrid gruffly; brushing soot off Harry so forcefully he nearly knocked him into a barrel of dragon dung outside of apothecary.**

"**Sulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno dodgy place, Harry – don' want no one ter see yeh down there -"**

"**I realized that," said Harry, ducking as Hagrid made to brush him off again. "I told you, I was lost – what were you doing down there, anyway?"**

"**I was looking for Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent, "growled Hagrid. "They're ruinin' the school cabbages. Yer not on yer own?"**

"That answers your question Wormy, he's looking for flesh-eating slug repellents," said James.

"Why we never thought of that I do not know" said Sirius sarcastically once more.

"**I'm staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained. "I've got to go find them…"** **They set off together down the street.**

"**How come you never wrote back to me?" said Hagrid as Harry jogged alongside him (he had to take three steps to every stride of Hagrid's enormous boots). Harry explained all about Dobby and the Dursleys.**

"**Lousy Muggles," growled Hagrid. "If I'd've known-"**

"**Harry! Harry! Over here!"**

**Harry looked up and saw Hermione Granger standing at the top of the white flight steps top Gringotts. She ran down to meet them, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.**

"**What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid – Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again – Are you coming into Gringotts, Harry?"**

"**As soon as I've found the Weasley's," said Harry.**

"**Yeh won't have long ter wait," Hagrid said with a grin.**

**Harry and Hermione looked around: Sprinting up the crowded street were Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr Weasley.**

"Oh that's good you didn't stay lost for you too long," sighed Alice relieved, "wonder what they'd have done if they couldn't have found you?"

"Well knowing my mother she'd have probably killed my father in anger," laughed Ginny, Ron nodding along.

"**Harry," Mr Weasley panted. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far…" He mopped his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic – she's coming now-" **

"**Where did you come out?" Ron asked.**

"**Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.**

"**Excellent!" said Fred and George together.**

"**We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.**

"**I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid. Mrs Weasley came galloping into view, her hand bad swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging onto the other.**

"**Oh, Harry – oh, my dear – you could have been anywhere-"**

**Gasping for breath she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot Hagrid hadn't managed to beat away. **

"Weasley why the hell does your mother have a clothes brush in her bag?" asked Draco pulling a face. Ron turned to him and shrugged saying something about the barmy old women and staying clean.

**Mr Weasley took Harry's glasses, gave them a tap of his wand, and returned them, good as new.**

"**Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't have found him, Hagrid!") "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.**

"**Guess who I saw at Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."**

"**Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr Weasley sharply behind them.**

"**No, he was selling-"**

"**So he's worried," said Mr Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…"**

"**You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble, don't go biting off more than you can chew-"**

"Wise women your mother Ronald," said Andromeda, "the Malfoy's haven't got the best name for themselves even now." She looked over to Lucius who glared at her, anger beginning to form.

"Andy shut up," snapped Narcissa defending her future name. Andromeda looked at her and rolled her eyes but saying nothing more amusing those from the future.

**So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.**

"**But you're Muggles!" said Mr Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" he pointed excitedly at the ten pound note in Mr Granger's hand.**

"Hermione, what did your parent's first think to mine?" asked Ron curiously.

"Well at first they thought your father was very weird and it made them wonder if all Wizards were like him, and then when they met their mother they realised that your father had a huge fascination about Muggle stuff and it amused them that someone was so interested about the usage of a rubber duck," she informed him laughing remembering the conversation they once shared.

"**Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as the Weasley's and Harry were led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin.** **The vaults were reached by means of small goblin- driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels. Harry had enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasley's vault, but felt dreadful, far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley, when it was opened.**

**There was a very small pile of silver Sickles inside, and just one gold Galleon. Mrs Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot into her bag. Harry felt even worse when they reached his vault. He tried to block the contents from view as he hastily shoved handfuls of coins into a leather bag.**

"You shouldn't have tried to hide it Harry, I'm sure Mr and Mrs Weasley would have said nothing about it," said Neville trying to cheer his guilty looking friend up.

**Back outside on the marble steps, they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill.** **Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Mrs Weasley and Ginny were going to the second-hand robe shop. Mr Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.**

"**We'll all meet you at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street. The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangled cheerfully in Harry's pocket was clamouring to be spent, so he bought three large strawberry-and-peanut-butter-ice creams, which they slurped happily as they wondered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows. Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies until Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door. In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power.**

"**A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers," Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinated…"**

"**Go away," Percy snapped.**

"'**Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out… He wants to be Minister of Magic…"Ron told Harry and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.**

"That's good to hear; at least he's got his mind set on the future and knows exactly where he wants to go. Quite a lot of the seventh years here still have no idea what they are wanting to do even after taking their options." Said Professor McGonagall running a hand through her dark hair.

**An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:**

**GILDEROY LOCKHART**

**Will be signing copies of his autobiography**

**MAGICAL ME**

**Today 12:30 P.M. 4:30 P.M**

"**We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"**

"No, Hermione you didn't have a crush on him did you!" said Sirius disgusted, "is your taste in men that bad?"

"Shut up," she muttered embarrassed.

**The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs Weasley's age.**

**A harassed looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, ladies, please… Don't push, there… mind the books now…" Harry, Ron and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books.**

**They each grabbed a copy of the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and sneaked up to the line to where the rest of the Weasley's were standing with Mr and Mrs Granger.**

"**Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute…"**

**Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd.**

**The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty on his wavy hair.**

"Oh lord, talk about a vain pompous man, how can you have so many pictures of you all around at once." Spat Bellatrix hating the man already.

**A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large, black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.**

"**Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet-"**

"**Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.**

**Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron – and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"**

**The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause.** **Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys.**

"**Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."**

**When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could barely feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.**

**"****Unlucky Harry," sympathised Frank. **

**Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge-"**

**The crowd applauded again.**

"**He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his school mates will, in fact, be getting the real Magical Me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September; I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"**

"Oh no," groaned both Severus Snape and Professor McGonagall scowling at the headmaster who's blue eyes were twinkling.

**The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.**

"**You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own-"**

"**Bet you loved that didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing. He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.**

"**Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."**

"**Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.**

"**Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy.**

"Definitely jealous," Neville said smirking over at Draco.

"Shut it Longbottom," he snapped his hands tightening to a fist, he was becoming just as annoyed as Lucius was.

**Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.**

"**Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he was something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe.**

"**Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"**

"**Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."**

**Ron went as red as Ginny. He dropped his books into the cauldron, too, and started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.**

"**Ron!" said Mr Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."**

"**Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley."**

**It was Mr Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.**

"Must be a rich pureblood thing, they all do it," said Hermione, "see," she pointed over to Bellatrix, Narcissa, Lucius, Regulus and Andromeda all pulling the same sneer.

"What about you Sirius can you do it?" Harry asked amused, the raven haired Gryffindor shrugged and attempted it and within seconds the whole room was laughing, like his cousins and brother he could pull the perfect rich pureblood sneer. From then on all those from a rich background with Pureblood gave it a go and to Hermione's shock all but Neville, Frank and Dumbledore could pull off the sneer.

"And here I was thinking it was a Slytherin thing it turns out it's a rich Pureblood family thing," chuckled Peter.

"**Lucius," said Mr Weasley, nodding coldly.**

"**Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr Malfoy. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?"**

**He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, and very battered copy of Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.**

"**Obviously not," said Mr Malfoy. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"**

**Mr Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.**

"**We have a different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said**

"**Clearly," said Mr Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr and Mrs Granger, who were watching apprehensively. The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower."**

**There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr Weasley had thrown himself at Mr Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf.**

**"****Well I bet I wasn't expecting that," said Lucius slightly shocked, "I guess you just don't piss of a red head,"**

**Dozens of heavy spell books came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of 'Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs Weasley was shrieking, 'No, Arthur, No!'; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; 'Gentlemen, please – please!' cried the assistant, and then louder than all –**

"**Break it up, there, gents, break it up-"**

**Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr Weasley and Mr Malfoy apart. Mr Weasley had a cut lip and Mr Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopaedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.**

"**Here, girl -** **take your book – it's the best your father can give you-" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.**

"Well that would have topped Harry and Lockhart on the front page if the photographer had gotten himself a picture there," laughed Alice, "I can see the title now, Weasley and Malfoy Fight at the Magical Me book signing," everyone laughed imagining what everyone would think if they read the front page without knowing the real story.

"Luckily for you all, you didn't have to listen to your father mutter angrily for the entire day about Weasley. I did wonder at the time why he smiled smugly at one point when he said Weasley would get what was coming to him by the end of the year." Said Draco realising that was the moment his father had given Ginny Tom Riddle's diary. He wasn't the only one to discover this, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Ginny had all stayed quiet for a few seconds as the others talked about the possibility of a new front page.

"**Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that – no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter – bad blood, that's what it is – come on now – let's get outta of here."**

**The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but he barley came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs Weasley beside herself with fury.**

"**A fine example to set for your children… brawling in public… what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought-"**

"**He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report –said it was all the publicity-"**

**But it was subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be travelling back to the Burrow using Floo Powder. They said good-bye to the Grangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle Street on the other side; Mr Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped quickly at the look on Mrs Weasley's face.**

**Harry took off his glasses and put them safely in his pocket before helping himself to Floo Powder. It definitely wasn't his favourite way to travel.**

"It really is a horrid way to travel; I'd recommend it to nobody if there was another way to do it with children." said Bellatrix.

"Well that is the end of the chapter," said Ginny keeping hold of the book. "What did you think to it?"

"I didn't like it," said Lucius simply Draco agreeing with him.

"I liked the fight and some of the stuff you've said is making me think that it was quite an important chapter," said Frank, "however I'm not a fan of Gilderoy Lockhart,"

"It's a very important chapter in a way this chapter is the conclusion to the end of the book and to something in the sixth book," explained Hermione, "and yes there'll be an awful lot of Gilderoy Lockhart in the next 12 chapters or so,"

"Great, I cannot believe I have to work with that idiot," groaned Severus his face dropping.

"Can we have dinner before we read the next chapter," asked Andromeda her stomach rumbling.

"We'll have dinner after the next chapter and then we'll put the book down for the evening then. Probably turn in for the night," said Dumbledore checking the time.

* * *

**Please Review guys, bye for now :)**


	5. The Whomping Willow

**It's been awhile since I updated the next chapter, but here it is hope you like it. I don't think it's perfect but I think it's okay. **

******Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the idea, nor am I making any profit from this. This story is just for the entertainment of the readers.**

* * *

**The Whomping Willow**

"Let's get this chapter started, I want my dinner and my bed," said Peter yawning attempting to ignore the rumbling of his stomach.

"I'm agreeing with Wor – I mean Peter on this one," said Ron, the idea of food sounded very appealing. Peter looked at him strangely but said nothing if he had learnt anything about those from the future then it was the fact that they liked to keep things very secretive usually answering with you'll read it in the books.

"Well, if you are ready we can start reading the next chapter," Dumbledore said.

"Well I'd like to volunteer myself to read the next chapter," said Lily looking around the group, "that is if nobody else wants to read."

"Go on Lily you may as well get the next chapter over and done with so we can eat," Said Sirius leaning back resting on his out stretched palms.

Ginny handed the book to fellow female red head in the room, Lily smiled in thanking and opened the page and frowned. "This chapter is called **The Whomping Willow**. I dread to think what the Whomping willow has involved.

"You're not the only one," muttered Remus who had turned very pale all of a sudden.

Hermione looked over to Harry and Ron and shook her head, she could see that Remus was nervous about the chapter but there was no way of reassuring him without the others becoming suspicious.

"You may start now Miss Evans," said Professor McGonagall kindly.

**The end of the summer vacation came too quickly for Harry's liking.** **He was looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts, but his month at the Burrow had been the happiest of his life. It was difficult not to feel jealous of Ron when he thought of the Dursleys and the sort of welcome he could expect next time he turned up on Privet Drive.**

Harry grinned, he knew that the next time he saw the Dursleys would be much more interesting, after all how many people's Aunt actually blew up and floated away.

**On their last evening, Mrs Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Harry's favourite things, ending with a mouth-watering treacle pudding. **

**Fred and George rounded off the evening with a display of Filibuster fireworks; they filled the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least half an hour. Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed.** **It took a long while to get started next morning. They were up at dawn, but somehow they still seemed to have a great deal to do.**

**Mrs Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills; people kept colliding on the stairs, half-dressed with bits of toast in their hands; and Mr Weasley nearly broke his neck, tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car.**

"I shouldn't laugh at that but that's really quite funny," chuckled Ron, looking to Ginny who was trying to her hide her laugh behind her hand.

**Harry couldn't see how eight people, six large trunks, two owls, and a rat were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia. He had reckoned, of course, without the special features that Mr Weasley had added.**

**"Not a word to Molly," he whispered to Harry as he opened the trunk and showed him how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fitted easily.**

**When at last they were all in the car, Mrs Weasley glanced into the back seat, where Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side by side, and said, "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that it resembled a park bench. "I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?"**

**Mr Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Harry turning back for a last look at the house. He barely had time to wonder when he'd see it again when they were back.**

"Let me guess somebody forgot something so they had to go back for it," said Snape smirking. Ginny Harry and Ron nodded.

"You've no idea," said Harry rolling his eyes.

**George had forgotten his box of Filibuster fireworks. Five minutes after that, they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick. They had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked that she'd left her diary.**

**By the time she had clambered back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers were running high.**

**Mr Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife.**

**"Molly, dear -"**

**"No, Arthur -"**

**"No one would see - this little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed - that'd get us up in the air - then we fly above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser -"**

**"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight -"**

**They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.**

**Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year. The tricky part was getting onto platform nine and three-quarters, which wasn't visible to the Muggle eye. What you had to do was walk through the solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. It didn't hurt, but it had to be done carefully so that none of the Muggles noticed you vanishing.**

"Thanks for informing us of that Potter, we all know how to get on to the platform now," Draco sarcastically muttered.

"Well you are blonde so I needed to make sure you were able to get on their," Harry replied sickly sweet scowling at the blonde before turning back to his mother.

**"Percy first," said Mrs Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier.**

**Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr Weasley went next; Fred and George followed.**

**"I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," Mrs Weasley told Harry and Ron, grabbing Ginny's hand and setting off. In the blink of an eye they were gone.**

**"Let's go together, we've only got a minute," Ron said to Harry.**

**Harry made sure that Hedwig's cage was safely wedged on top of his trunk and wheeled his trolley around to face the barrier. He felt perfectly confident; this wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as using Floo powder. Both of them bent low over the handles of their trolleys and walked purposefully toward the barrier, gathering speed. A few feet away from it, they broke into a run and CRASH.**

"What?" said a confused Lucius who was expecting them; like the rest in the room to walk straight through the barrier. "Why didn't it work?"

"You'll see soon enough," said Ron rubbing his head remembering the crash like it had only just happened.

"Why does that not surprise me," Narcissa muttered to Lucius who nodded in agreement.

**Both trolleys hit the barrier and bounced backward; Ron's trunk fell off with a loud thump, Harry was knocked off his feet, and Hedwig's cage bounced onto the shiny floor, and she rolled away, shrieking indignantly; people all around them stared and a guard nearby yelled, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?"**

**"Lost control of the trolley," Harry gasped, clutching his ribs as he got up. **

**Ron ran to pick up Hedwig, who was causing such a scene that there was a lot of muttering about cruelty to animals from the surrounding crowd.**

**"Why can't we get through?" Harry hissed to Ron.**

**"I dunno -"**

"Neither do we," said Professor McGonagall.

"Speak for yourself my dear Professor, I believe I have an idea on how it has happened," all eyes turned towards the headmaster whose eyes were twinkling.

"You're not going to tell us are you Albus," sighed a frustrated Professor McGonagall.

"All in good time my dear," the students huffed and turned back to Lily who had continued reading.

**Ron looked wildly around. A dozen curious people were still watching them.**

**"We're going to miss the train," Ron whispered. "I don't understand why the gateway's sealed itself -"**

**Harry looked up at the giant clock with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Ten seconds ... nine seconds ...**

**He wheeled his trolley forward cautiously until it was right against the barrier and pushed with all his might. The metal remained solid.**

**Three seconds . . . two seconds ... one second ...**

**"It's gone," said Ron, sounding stunned. "The train's left. What if Mum and Dad can't get back through to us? Have you got any Muggle money?"**

**Harry gave a hollow laugh. "The Dursleys haven't given me pocket money for about six years."**

**Ron pressed his ear to the cold barrier.**

'**Can't hear anything,' he said tensely. **

'**What're we going to do? I don't know how long it'll take Mum and Dad to get back to us.'**

**They looked around. People were still watching them, mainly because of Hedwig's continuing screeches.**

'**I think we'd better go and wait by the car,' said Harry. **

'**We're attracting too much atten –'**

'**Harry!' said Ron, his eyes gleaming. 'The car!'**

'**What about it?'**

'**We can fly the car to Hogwarts!'**

'**But I thought –'**

'**We're stuck, right? And we've got to get to school, haven't we? And even under-age wizards are allowed to use magic if it's a real emergency, section nineteen or something of the Restriction of Thingy…'**

**Harry's feeling of panic turned suddenly to excitement.**

'**Can you fly it?'**

'**No, problem,' said Ron, wheeling his trolley around to face the exit. 'C'mon, let's go, if we hurry we'll be able to follow the Hogwarts Express.'**

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Regulus shaking his head, "if your ideas are as stupid as your fathers you'll actually go along with it," James scowled at Regulus about to stand up and confront the younger Black brother but he stopped when he heard Harry and laugh.

"I guess you could like father like son," Harry admitted still laughing watching James from the corner of his eye.

**And they marched off through the crowd of curious Muggles, out of the station and back onto the side road where the old Ford Anglia was parked. Ron unlocked the cavernous trunk with a series of taps from his wand. They heaved their luggage back in, put Hedwig on the back seat, and got into the front.**

**"Check that no one's watching," said Ron, starting the ignition with another tap of his wand. Harry stuck his head out of the window: traffic was rumbling along the main road ahead, but their street was empty.**

**"Okay," he said.**

**Ron pressed a tiny silver button on the dashboard. The car around them vanished - and so did they. Harry could feel the seat vibrating beneath him, hear the engine, feel his hands on his knees and hi glasses on his nose, but for all he could see, he had become a pair of eyeballs, floating a few feet above the ground in a dingy street full of parked cars.**

**"Let's go," said Ron's voice from his right.**

**And the ground and the dirty buildings on either side fell away, dropping out of sight as the car rose; in seconds, the whole of London ay, smoky and glittering, below them.**

**Then there was a popping noise and the car, Harry, and Ron reappeared.**

**"Uh-oh," said Ron, jabbing at the Invisibility Booster. "It's faulty -"**

"I knew it," muttered Regulus under his breath, he was going to say something on the lines of idiotic Muggle lovers but he valued his life more.

**Both of them pummelled it. The car vanished. Then it flickered back again.**

**"Hold on!" Ron yelled, and he slammed his foot on the accelerator; they shot straight into the low, woolly clouds and everything turned dull and foggy.**

**"Now what?" said Harry, blinking at the solid mass of cloud pressing in on them from all sides.**

**"We need to see the train to know what direction to go in," said Ron.**

**"Dip back down again - quickly -"**

**They dropped back beneath the clouds and twisted around in their seats, squinting at the ground.**

**"I can see it!" Harry yelled. "Right ahead - there!"**

**The Hogwarts Express was streaking along below them like a scarlet snake.**

**"Due north." said Ron, checking the compass on the dashboard.**

**"Okay, we'll just have to check on it every half hour or so - hold on…"**

**And they shot up through the clouds. A minute later, they burst out into a blaze of sunlight.**

"Surely you would have been seen, or were you not in the Muggle part of London when that happened?" said Alice slightly amused; she could easily see more of James in the boy than Lily.

"No we were still in Muggle London," Ron said scratching the back of his head; he could feel his cheeks heat and the snickering coming from beside him wasn't helping. With a swift movement of the leg he had kicked Draco in the side.

**It was a different world. The wheels of the car skimmed the sea of fluffy cloud, the sky a bright, endless blue under the blinding white sun.**

**"All we've got to worry about now are airplanes," said Ron.**

**They looked at each other and started to laugh; for a long time, they couldn't stop.**

**It was as though they had been plunged into a fabulous dream. This, thought Harry, was surely the only way to travel - past swirls and turrets of snowy cloud, in a car full of hot, bright sunlight, with a fat pack of toffees in the glove compartment, and the prospect of seeing Fred's and George's jealous faces when they landed smoothly and spectacularly on the sweeping lawn in front of Hogwarts castle.**

"If only," mumbled Hermione glaring at Harry and Ron who didn't have the nerve to look at her, easily sensing the repeat of her displeased opinion.

**They made regular checks on the train as they flew farther and farther north, each dip beneath the clouds showing them a different view. London was soon far behind them, replaced by neat green fields that gave way in turn to wide, purplish moors, a great city alive with cars like multi-coloured ants, villages with tiny toy churches.**

**Several uneventful hours later, however, Harry had to admit that some of the fun was wearing off. **

**The toffees had made them extremely thirsty and they had nothing to drink. He and Ron had pulled off their sweaters, but Harry's T-shirt was sticking to the back of his seat and his glasses kept sliding down to the end of his sweaty nose. **

**He had stopped noticing the fantastic cloud shapes now and was thinking longingly of the train miles below, where you could buy ice-cold pumpkin juice from a trolley pushed by a plump witch. Why hadn't they been able to get onto platform nine and three-quarters?**

**"Can't be much further, can it?" croaked Ron, hours later still, as the sun started to sink into their floor of cloud, staining it a deep pink. "Ready for another check on the train?"**

**It was still right below them, winding its way past a snow-capped mountain. It was much darker beneath the canopy of clouds.**

**Ron put his foot on the accelerator and drove them upward again, but as he did so, the engine began to whine.**

**Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances.**

**"It's probably just tired," said Ron. "It's never been this far before..."**

**And they both pretended not to notice the whining growing louder and louder as the sky became steadily darker. **

**Stars were blossoming in the blackness. Harry pulled his sweater back on, trying to ignore the way the windshield wipers were now waving feebly, as though in protest.**

**"Not far," said Ron, more to the car than to Harry, "not far now," and he patted the dashboard nervously.**

**When they flew back beneath the clouds a little while later, they had to squint through the darkness for a landmark they knew.**

**"There!" Harry shouted, making Ron and Hedwig jump. **

**"Straight ahead!"**

**Silhouetted on the dark horizon, high on the cliff over the lake, stood the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle.**

**But the car had begun to shudder and was losing speed.**

"This doesn't sound good," said Andromeda. "That car sounds as though it's going to cut out any minute,"

**"Come on," Ron said cajolingly, giving the steering wheel a little shake, "nearly there, come on -"**

**The engine groaned. Narrow jets of steam were issuing from under the hood. Harry found himself gripping the edges of his seat very hard as they flew toward the lake. The car gave a nasty wobble. Glancing out of his window, Harry saw the smooth, black, glassy surface of the water, a mile below.**

**Ron's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. The car wobbled again.**

**"Come on," Ron muttered.**

**They were over the lake - the castle was right ahead – Ron put his foot down.**

**There was a loud clunk, a splutter, and the engine died completely.**

**"Uh-oh," said Ron, into the silence.**

**The nose of the car dropped. They were falling, gathering speed, heading straight for the solid castle wall.**

**"Noooooo!" Ron yelled, swinging the steering wheel around; they missed the dark stone wall by inches as the car turned in a great arc, soaring over the dark greenhouses, then the vegetable patch, and then out over the black lawns, losing altitude all the time.**

**Ron let go of the steering wheel completely and pulled his wand out of his back pocket.**

**"STOP! STOP!" he yelled, whacking the dashboard and the windshield, ****but they were still plummeting, the ground flying up toward them**

**"MIND THAT TREE!" Harry bellowed, lunging for the steering wheel, but too late.**

**CRUNCH.**

"I now understand the name of the chapter," said Bellatrix wincing, "why of all trees did you run into that one?"

"If you know Harry and Ron as well as I do then you'll quickly learn the hardest most dangerous route always seems to be the one they fall into." Neville explained looking over at Harry and Ron who were doing a collaboration of mock bows.

**With an ear-splitting bang of metal on wood, they hit the thick tree trunk and dropped to the ground with a heavy jolt. Steam was billowing from under the crumpled hood; Hedwig was shrieking in terror; a golf ball-size lump was throbbing on Harry's head where he had hit the windshield; and to his right, Ron let out a low, despairing groan.**

**"Are you okay?" Harry said urgently.**

**"My wand," said Ron, in a shaky voice. "Look at my wand -"**

**It had snapped, almost in two; the tip was dangling limply, held on by a few splinters.**

**Harry opened his mouth to say he was sure they'd be able to mend it up at the school, but he never even got started. **

"Sadly even Hogwarts cannot fix a snapped wand, I have a feeling your next year at Hogwarts with that wand won't be much help Ron," said Sirius.

"Oh I don't know I personally think you should always carry a snapped wand around with you, after all you never know which idiot will try and attack you with it," Ron winked at Sirius and the entire room knew that was a clue on what was to come.

**At that very moment, something hit his side of the car with the force of a charging bull, sending him lurching sideways into Ron, just as an equally heavy blow hit the roof.**

**"What's happen -?"**

**Ron gasped, staring through the windshield, and Harry looked around just in time to see a branch as thick as a python smash into it. **

**The tree they had hit was attacking them. **

**Its trunk was bent almost double, and its gnarled boughs were pummelling every inch of the car it could reach.**

**"Aaargh!" said Ron as another twisted limb punched a large dent into his door; the windshield was now trembling under a hail of blows from knuckle-like twigs and a branch as thick as a battering ram was pounding furiously on the roof, which seemed to be caving in - **

**"Run for it!" Ron shouted, throwing his full weight against his door, but next second he had been knocked backward into Harry's lap by a vicious uppercut from another branch.**

**"We're done for!" he moaned as the ceiling sagged, but suddenly the floor of the car was vibrating - the engine had restarted.**

"What luck," said Frank amazed that the car had come back to life.

**"Reverse!" Harry yelled, and the car shot backward; the tree was still trying to hit them; they could hear its roots creaking as it almost ripped itself up, lashing out at them as they sped out of reach.**

**"That," panted Ron, "was close. Well done, car -"**

**The car, however, had reached the end of its tether. With two sharp clunks, the doors flew open and Harry felt his seat tip sideways: Next thing he knew he was sprawled on the damp ground. Loud thuds told him that the car was ejecting their luggage from the trunk; Hedwig's cage flew through the air and burst open; she rose out of it with an angry screech and sped off toward the castle without a backward look.**

Lucius laughed, "You sure have a way with birds Potter," even if didn't want to, Harry had to laugh at the poor joke. It was odd to see the stiff upper lipped Lucius Malfoy making a joke, and with a look to his left he assumed it was also weird for Draco whose eyebrows were raised in surprise.

**Then, dented, scratched, and steaming, the car rumbled off into the darkness, its rear lights blazing angrily.**

**"Come back!" Ron yelled after it, brandishing his broken wand. "Dad'll kill me!"**

**But the car disappeared from view with one last snort from its exhaust.**

**"Can you believe our luck?" said Ron miserably, bending down to pick up Scabbers. "Of all the trees we could've hit, we had to get one that hits back."**

**He glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree, which was still flailing its branches threateningly.**

**"Come on," said Harry wearily, "we'd better get up to the school..."**

**It wasn't at all the triumphant arrival they had pictured. Stiff, cold, and bruised, they seized the ends of their trunks and began dragging them up the grassy slope, toward the great oak front doors.**

**"I think the feast's already started," said Ron, dropping his trunk at the foot of the front steps and crossing quietly to look through a brightly lit window. "Hey - Harry - come and look - it's the Sorting!"**

**Harry hurried over and, together, he and Ron peered in at the Great Hall. Innumerable candles were hovering in mid-air over four long, crowded tables, making the golden plates and goblets sparkle. Overhead, the bewitched ceiling, which always mirrored the sky outside, sparkled with stars.**

**Through the forest of pointed black Hogwarts hats, Harry saw a long line of scared-looking first years filing into the Hall. Ginny was among them, easily visible because of her vivid Weasley hair.**

**Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, a bespectacled witch with her hair in a tight bun, was placing the famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat on a stool before the newcomers.**

**Every year, this aged old hat, patched, frayed, and dirty, sorted new students into the four Hogwarts houses.**

**Harry well remembered putting it on, exactly one year ago, and waiting, petrified, for its decision as it muttered aloud in his ear. For a few horrible seconds he had feared that the hat was going to put him in Slytherin, the house that had turned out more Dark witches and wizards than any other -but he had ended up in Gryffindor, along with Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys.**

**Last term, Harry and Ron had helped Gryffindor win the House Championship, beating Slytherin for the first time in seven years.**

The four marauders, Alice Lily and Frank clapped causing Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione to laugh and roll their eyes. In the distance you could hear Professor McGonagall muttering 7 years over and other as she shook her head.

**A very small, mousy-haired boy had been called forward to place the hat on his head. Harry's eyes wandered past him to where Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, sat watching the Sorting from the staff table, his long silver beard and half-moon glasses shining brightly in the candlelight. Several seats along, Harry saw Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in robes of aquamarine. And there at the end was Hagrid, huge and hairy, drinking deeply from his goblet.**

**"Hang on. . . "Harry muttered to Ron. "There's an empty chair at the staff table ... Where's Snape?"**

**Professor Severus Snape was Harry's least favourite teacher. Harry also happened to be Snape's least favourite student. Cruel, sarcastic, and disliked by everybody except the students from his own house, Snape taught Potions.**

**"Maybe he's ill!" said Ron hopefully.**

**"Maybe he's left," said Harry, "because he missed out on the Defence Against Dark Arts job again!"**

"It's that famous moment when he's stood right behind you isn't it," laughed Andromeda. Harry and Ron grinned but didn't reveal anything.

**"Or he might have been sacked!" said Ron enthusiastically. "I mean, everyone hates him -"**

**"Or maybe," said a very cold voice right behind them, "he's waiting to hear why you two didn't arrive on the school train."**

**Harry spun around. There, his black robes rippling in a cold breeze, stood Severus Snape. He was a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and greasy, shoulder-length black hair, and at this moment, he was smiling in a way that told Harry he and Ron were in very deep trouble.**

"Well my description hasn't improved since the last book," drawled Severus with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah I can't say it's going to get better either," admitted Harry grinning watching as his future potions teacher rolled his eyes.

**"Follow me," said Snape.**

**Not daring even to look at each other, Harry and Ron followed Snape up the steps into the vast, echoing entrance hall, which was lit with flaming torches. A delicious smell of food was wafting from the Great Hall, but Snape led them away from the warmth and light, down a narrow stone staircase that led into the dungeons.**

**"In!" he said, opening a door halfway down the cold passageway and pointing.**

**They entered Snape's office, shivering. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars, in which floated all manner of revolting things Harry didn't really want to know the name of at the moment.**

"Nice room," Sirius said sarcastically.

"At least I am mentioned in the books Black, where are you?"

**The fireplace was dark and empty. Snape closed the door and turned to look at them.**

**"So," he said softly, "the train isn't good enough for the famous Harry Potter and his faithful sidekick Weasley. Wanted to arrive with a bang, did we, boys?"**

**"No, sir, it was the barrier at King's Cross, it -"**

**"Silence!" said Snape coldly. "What have you done with the car?"**

**Ron gulped. **

**This wasn't the first time Snape had given Harry the impression of being able to read minds. But a moment later, he understood, as Snape unrolled today's issue of the Evening Prophet.**

**"You were seen," he hissed, showing them the headline: FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES. He began to read aloud: "****_Two Muggles in London, convinced they saw an old car flying over the Post Office tower ... at noon in Norfolk, Mrs Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out her washing ... Mr Angus Fleet, of Peebles, reported to police _****..."**

**"****Oh no, you were seen," said James shaking his head with a large grin on his face.**

**"****Six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office?" he said, looking up at Ron and smiling still more nastily. "Dear, dear ... his own son. . . "**

**Harry felt as though he'd just been walloped in the stomach by one of the mad tree's larger branches. If anyone found out Mr Weasley had bewitched the car ... he hadn't thought of that ...**

**"I noticed, in my search of the park, that considerable damage seems to have been done to a very valuable Whomping Willow," Snape went on**.

**"That tree did more damage to us than we -" Ron blurted out.**

**"Silence!" snapped Snape again. "Most unfortunately, you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You will wait here."**

**"****Expelled? Dumbledore won't allow that!" said Peter looking at the headmaster, but Dumbledore was in deep thought wondering what he was going to do. **

**Harry and Ron stared at each other, white-faced. Harry didn't feel hungry any more. He now felt extremely sick. He tried not to look at a large, slimy something suspended in green liquid on a shelf behind Snape's desk. If Snape had gone to fetch Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, they were hardly any better off. She might be fairer than Snape, but she was still extremely strict.**

**Ten minutes later, Snape returned, and sure enough it was Professor McGonagall who accompanied him. Harry had seen Professor McGonagall angry on several occasions, but either he had forgotten just how thin her mouth could go, or he had never seen her this angry before. **

"Oh Harry, you've along way to go, you know you've really ticked Minnie off when you can't see her lips. It's becoming one of our favourite looks of hers." Sirius joked.

"Black if you're not careful you'll be seeing that look very shortly," snapped the Professor.

"Please Sirius it's not your favourite look it's just the one you see the most," laughed Remus. Sirius thought about it for the moment and nodded his head grinning cheekily.

**She raised her wand the moment she entered; Harry and Ron both flinched, but she merely pointed it at the empty fireplace, where flames suddenly erupted.**

**"Sit," she said, and they both backed into chairs by the fire. "Explain," she said, her glasses glinting ominously.**

**Ron launched into the story, starting with the barrier at the station refusing to let them through.**

**"-so we had no choice, Professor, we couldn't get on the train."**

**"Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? I believe you have an owl?" Professor McGonagall said coldly to Harry.**

**Harry gaped at her. Now she said it that seemed the obvious thing to have done.**

**"I - I didn't think -"**

**"That," said Professor McGonagall, "is obvious."**

**There was a knock on the office door and Snape, now looking happier than ever, opened it. There stood the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Harry's whole body went numb. Dumbledore was looking unusually grave. He stared down his very crooked nose at them, and Harry suddenly found himself wishing he and Ron where still being beaten up by the Whomping Willow.**

**There was a long silence. Then Dumbledore said, "Please explain why you did this."**

**It would have been better if he had shouted. Harry hated the disappointment in his voice. **

**For some reason, he was unable to look Dumbledore in the eyes, and spoke instead to his knees. He told Dumbledore everything except that Mr Weasley owned the bewitched car, making it sound as though he and Ron had happened to find a flying car parked outside the station. He knew Dumbledore would see through this at once, but Dumbledore asked no questions about the car. When Harry had finished, he merely continued to peer at them through his spectacles.**

**"We'll go and get our stuff," said Ron in a hopeless sort of voice.**

**"What are you talking about, Weasley?" barked Professor McGonagall.**

**"Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?" said Ron.**

**Harry looked quickly at Dumbledore.**

**"Not today, Mr Weasley," said Dumbledore. "But I must impress upon both of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be writing to both your families tonight. I must also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you."**

"I knew Dumbledore would let you off," said Peter to Harry and Ron.

**Snape looked as though Christmas had been cancelled. He cleared his throat and said, "Professor Dumbledore, these boys have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree - surely acts of this nature -"**

**"It will be for Professor McGonagall to decide on these boys' punishments, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "They are in her House and are therefore her responsibility." He turned to Professor McGonagall. "I must go back to the feast, Minerva, I've got to give out a few notices. Come, Severus, there's a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample -"**

"What I don't understand why Severus chose to work as a Professor. I mean he hates kids, he doesn't seem to like Dumbledore's judgement so why does he work there?" said Bellatrix confused.

"I agree, I really can't imagine being a Professor. It was one of the few things I'd hate to do as a profession so why did I chose it?" Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at one another unsure what to say but eventually Hermione cleared her throat.

"There are certain events in the future that will force Severus to take up the Potion's Professor, what that is would spoil the surprise for the future books."

"Great," he muttered.

**Snape shot a look of pure venom at Harry and Ron as he allowed himself to be swept out of his office, leaving them alone with Professor McGonagall, who was still eyeing them like a wrathful eagle.**

**"You'd better get along to the hospital wing, Weasley, you're bleeding."**

**"Not much," said Ron, hastily wiping the cut over his eye with his sleeve. "Professor, I wanted to watch my sister being Sorted -"**

**"The Sorting Ceremony is over," said Professor McGonagall. "Your sister is also in Gryffindor."**

**"Oh, good," said Ron.**

**"And speaking of Gryffindor -" Professor McGonagall said sharply, but Harry cut in: "Professor, when we took the car, term hadn't started so - so Gryffindor shouldn't really have points taken from it - should it?" he finished, watching her anxiously.**

**Professor McGonagall gave him a piercing look, but he was sure she had almost smiled. **

**Her mouth looked less thin, anyway.**

**"I will not take any points from Gryffindor," she said, and Harry's heart lightened considerably. "But you will both get a detention."**

**It was better than Harry had expected. As for Dumbledore's writing to the Dursleys, that was nothing. Harry knew perfectly well they'd just be disappointed that the Whomping Willow hadn't squashed him flat.**

**Professor McGonagall raised her wand again and pointed it at Snape's desk. A large plate of sandwiches, two silver goblets, and a jug of-iced pumpkin juice appeared with a pop.**

**"You will eat in here and then go straight up to your dormitory," she said. "I must also return to the feast."**

"I guess you're no longer going to the hospital wing then," laughed Narcissa.

"No, I think she got the picture that we would survive. Madam Pomfrey on the other hand would have kept us locked up for days." Ron said laughing shaking his head over the barmy Midi witch.

**When the door had closed behind her, Ron let out a long, low whistle.**

**"I thought we'd had it," he said, grabbing a sandwich.**

**"So did I" said Harry, taking one, too.**

**"Can you believe our luck, though?" said Ron thickly through a mouthful of chicken and ham. "Fred and George must've flown that car five or six times and no Muggle ever saw them." **

**He swallowed and took another huge bite. "Why couldn't we get through the barrier?"**

**Harry shrugged.**

**"We'll have to watch our step from now on, though," he said, taking a grateful swig of pumpkin juice. "Wish we could've gone up to the feast ..."**

**"She didn't want us showing off," said Ron sagely. "Doesn't want people to think it's clever, arriving by flying car."**

**When they had eaten as many sandwiches as they could (the plate kept refilling itself) they rose and left the office, treading the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower. The castle was quiet; it seemed that the feast was over. They walked past muttering portraits and creaking suits of armour, and climbed narrow flights of stone stairs, until at last they reached the passage where the secret entrance to Gryffindor Tower was hidden, behind an oil painting of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**

"Not so secret now," said Remus rolling his eyes, looking over to the Slytherins who just shook their heads amused.

**"Password?" she said as they approached.**

**"Er -" said Harry.**

**They didn't know the New Year's password, not having met a Gryffindor prefect yet, but help came almost immediately; they heard hurrying feet behind them and turned to see Hermione dashing toward them.**

**"There you are! Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumours - someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car…"**

**"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry assured her.**

**"You're not telling me you did fly here?" said Hermione, sounding almost as severe as Professor McGonagall.**

**"Skip the lecture," said Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password."**

**"It's `wattlebird,"' said Hermione impatiently, "but that's not the point -"**

"You can always count on Hermione to show the side of reason." Said Neville amused.

**Her words were cut short, however, as the portrait of the fat lady swung open and there was a sudden storm of clapping. **

**It looked as though the whole of Gryffindor House was still awake, packed into the circular common room, standing on the lopsided tables and squashy armchairs, waiting for them to arrive. Arms reached through the portrait hole to pull Harry and Ron inside, leaving Hermione to scramble in after then.**

**"Brilliant!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking about that one for years -"**

**"Good for you," said a fifth year Harry had never spoken to; someone was patting him on the back as though he'd just won a marathon; Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the crowd and said together, "Why couldn't we've come in the car, eh?"**

**Ron was scarlet in the face, grinning embarrassedly, but Harry could see one person who didn't look happy at all. Percy was visible over the heads of some excited first years, and he seemed to be trying to get near enough to start telling them off. **

**Harry nudged Ron in the ribs and nodded in Percy's direction. Ron got the point at once.**

**"Got to get upstairs - bit tired," he said, and the two of them started pushing their way toward the door on the other side of the room, which led to a spiral staircase and the dormitories.**

**"'Night," Harry called back to Hermione, who was wearing a scowl just like Percy's.**

**They managed to get to the other side of the common room, still having their backs slapped, and gained the peace of the staircase.**

**They hurried up it, right to the top, and at last reached the door of their old dormitory, which now had a sign on it saying SECOND YEARS.**

**They entered the familiar, circular room, with its five four-posters hung with red velvet and its high, narrow windows. **

"Are the other house's dorms set up like ours or are they all set up differently?" asked Harry interested. He had seen both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw common room but never the bed rooms.

"All four houses are set up in the same way," Dumbledore told them.

**Their trunks had been brought up for them and stood at the ends of their beds.**

**Ron grinned guiltily at Harry.**

**"I know I shouldn't've enjoyed that or anything, but -'**

**The dormitory door flew open and in came the other second year Gryffindor boys, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom.**

**"Unbelievable!" beamed Seamus.**

**"Cool," said Dean.**

**"Amazing," said Neville, awestruck.**

**Harry couldn't help it. He grinned, too.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Lily said closing the book and placing it on her bed. "Can we have dinner and then go to bed?" the headmaster nodded and food was brought in to the room.

The group ate their dinner with a mixture of talking and laughing. Harry sat silently watching those in the room. It was the first time he had been able to look at everyone and study them without being asked questions. His eyes focused on the five Blacks in the room. He realised it was a rare moment that all five of them were in a room together without fighting one another. His eyes glanced to Bellatrix; he had only met the woman after her escape from Azkaban and he could see that the prison had done her no favours. His eyes moved on to Sirius, he had seen a picture of him in his school days but that was the only time he had seen his godfather with such joy in his eyes, the years in Azkaban had damaged him whether he wanted to admit to that or not. Andromeda was much like the woman he had made, she didn't hold too much importance to the future but he had brought her in to show the lifestyle and the heroic behaviour of her daughter. At this age she could see the similarities that the three black sisters had but it was obvious Narcissa was opposite, her hair was a mixture of blonde and black and her eyes were blue instead of hair sisters black. She was easily the most proud of the three and knew her life would have its ups and downs. Finally he looked at Regulus, he knew very little about the younger brother of Sirius, he knew the truth of his death and his strong beliefs of his blood but other than that he knew very little. He hoped the adventure here would be able to allow the young man in front of him grow and not make the decisions that would take his life away.

"Now that dinner is finished, I suggest we all take an early night as we've a long way to go in this book." Said Professor Dumbledore, grudgingly the students nodded and made their way over to their beds; an extra one had been placed for Ginny to sleep.

Ten minutes of silence passed but Lucius couldn't sleep, he had only been mentioned a few times in the books but he knew that his book time wasn't going to be pleasant. All he had to do was look at Draco and he knew that the boy was suffering, he could hear the people from the present cast silencing charms other their beds so no one could hear them scream from their nightmares. It had been obvious to everyone that the present hadn't had a good night sleep when they surfaced this morning, the darkness under their eyes and the pain in their eyes told them this, but nobody had been brave enough to say anything. The reason he hadn't said anything was because he was scared of their answer they would give for the reason they had nightmares.

He rolled on to his side and faced Draco's bed, behind the curtains he could see his body twist and turn like he was fighting an invisible force, he closed his eyes tightly wishing he could fall asleep and rid the image of his future son in so much pain. He sat up and rolled up his sleeve and to his delight he saw pale skin but he knew what was coming, in a few weeks' time he would be summoned along with the others to see the Dark Lord and he would asses them and decide whether they were worthy or not to receive the dark mark. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was scared the longer they were here the more and more he wanted to run and never take the dark mark. He lay back on his bed and looked up, he no longer cared what anyone thought in the room he would make sure he chose the right path for Narcissa and Draco sake but he wasn't sure which path was the right one to choose.

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**Hope you liked it please review.**


	6. Gilderoy Lockhart

**Next chapter for you all, hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, nor do I make any profit from this. This is just for enjoyment.**

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Gilderoy Lockhart

The morning came around quickly for the students, and with some mumbling and grumbling they gathered in a group to eat the breakfast that had been prepared and brought up by the house elves. They all tucked in to their food in silence, nobody had spoken and this had confused Hermione.

She glanced around the room and was surprised that people were glancing at the same people before quickly looking down. She glanced over to Draco after watching Lucius look at Draco three times before looking back to his plate. Draco met her eyes both wondering the same thing. Why? She had caught Neville staring at Alice and Frank numerous times with a pained look in his eyes and it made her wonder how difficult it was for Neville and Harry to be sat here with the parents they never knew. Harry had been civil to Peter Pettigrew but Hermione knew that he was holding his tongue and possibly his wand hand.

She couldn't take the silence anymore peoples stares were driving her crazy and the tension was becoming thicker and thicker.

"Are you looking forward to the next couple of chapters?" a few shrugged but it was Andromeda who was the one to reply.

"I've enjoyed learning how Hogwarts has changed but also stayed the same over the years but I'm not looking forward to hear how the Wizarding World turns out."

"I'm trying to work out if being dead in the future is a better option that suffering with what the future is bringing." Explained Lily, "at first I was horrified to learn I had died young and left behind a son, but now I think being dead is a kinder decision. I mean I could suffer like Alice and Frank." The group nodded and thought about what Lily had said.

"I understand you've come here to help us change the future but how are we going to change the future?" asked Sirius.

"The books you are being read are seven very dangerous years in the future. And each book holds a key on how to destroy Voldermort. The choices you all make will affect this and if you all choose to follow the same destiny that we are showing you then nothing will change and we've wasted our time. But if you all take a different path with the knowledge you've learnt then you can save yourselves and also save us. You see the dangers Harry has taken and we're only in our second year, before long all of us from the future will be making dangerous decisions that could have killed us. Draco faces one of those in the sixth book. Harry faces them throughout the series. Hell even Hermione, Neville, Ginny and I are going to face them and for Lily, James, Frank, Alice, Lucius and Narcissa your choices will either kill or protect your child. You're not only doing this for yourselves but you are doing this for the futures of the people you are reading about and will one day care about." Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Draco stared at Ron in shock. "What?" the red head said looking around his cheeks heating.

"I've never heard you give a speech like that. I am impressed Ronald." Hermione said with a small smile spreading across her face. Neville and Harry thumped him on the shoulder and redness darkened.

The doors to the room of requirements opened and Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore walked into the room greeting everyone inside.

"I hope all of you have had a good night's sleep and have enjoyed the scrumptious breakfast prepared for you. Today we will be getting the second book finished so we can start the third one tomorrow." Professor Dumbledore explained.

"Who'd like to read the next chapter then?" asked Harry picking up the book.

"If it's alright with everyone I'd like to read the next chapter." With no complaints Harry handed the book over to Remus who thanked his silently and opened the page. "Okay everyone this chapter is called 'Gilderoy Lockhart' just the man we wanted to hear about," Remus joked, taking in a deep breath.

"I still can't believe you hired this man Headmaster." Professor McGonagall said with a slight shake of the head.

**The next day, however, Harry barely grinned once.** **Things started to go downhill from breakfast in the Great Hall. The four long house tables were laden with tureens of porridge, plates of kippers, mountains of toast, and dishes of eggs and bacon all beneath the enchanted ceiling filled with grey clouds. Harry and Ron sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Hermione, who had her copy of Voyages with Vampires propped open against a milk jug.**

**There was a slight stiffness in the way she said "Morning," which told Harry that she still disapproved of their entrance but Neville on the other hand, greeted them cheerfully. Neville was a round-faced and accident-prone boy with the worst memory of anyone Harry had ever met.**

"Thanks Harry, nice to know you think so highly of me." Said Neville rolling his eyes a little amused.

"**Mail's due any minute — I think Gran's sending a few things I forgot."**

**Harry had only just started his porridge when, sure enough, there was a rushing sound overhead and a hundred or so owls streamed in, circling the hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd. A big, lumpy package bounced off Neville's head and, a second later, something large and grey fell into Hermione's jug, spraying them all with milk and feathers.**

"**Errol!" said Ron, pulling the bedraggled owl out by the feet. Errol slumped, Unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.**

"**Oh, no —" Ron gasped.**

"**It's all right, he's still alive," said Hermione, prodding Errol gently with the tip of her finger.**

**"It's not that — it's that."**

**Ron was pointing at the red envelope. It looked quite ordinary to Harry, but Ron and Neville were both looking at it as though they expected it to explode.**

"**What's the matter?" said Harry.**

"**She's — she's sent me a Howler," said Ron faintly.**

"Oh this was so funny," laughed Draco remembering the moment like it was only yesterday.

"I hate howlers, I once received one at Hogwarts and was terrified of receiving one again." Frank said.

"When you're a trouble making disappointing son your mother doesn't bother sending you a howler," said Sirius amused. "She gave up a long time ago." He explained when he saw Draco's surprised expression.

"**You'd better open it, Ron," said Neville in a timid whisper. "It'll be worse if you don't. My gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and" — he gulped —"it was horrible."**

**Harry looked from their petrified faces to the red envelope.**

"**What's a Howler?" he said.**

**But Ron's whole attention was fixed on the letter, which had begun to smoke at the corners.**

"**Open it," Neville urged. "It'll all be over in a few minutes —"**

**Ron stretched out a shaking hand, eased the envelope from Errol's beak, and slit it open. Neville stuffed his fingers in his ears.**

**A split second later, Harry knew why. He thought for a moment it had exploded; a roar of sound filled the huge hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.**

"—**STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE —"** **Mrs Weasley yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made the plates and spoons rattle on the table, and echoed deafeningly off the stone walls. People throughout the hall were swivelling around to see who had received the Howler, and Ron sank so low in his chair that only his crimson forehead could be seen.**

"—**LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED —"**

**Harry had been wondering when his name was going to crop up.** **He tried very hard to look as though he couldn't hear the voice that was making his eardrums throb.**

"—**ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."**

**A ringing silence fell. The red envelope, which had dropped from Ron's hand, burst into flames and curled into ashes. Harry and Ron sat stunned, as though a tidal wave had just passed over them. A few people laughed and, gradually, a babble of talk broke out again.**

**Hermione closed Voyages with Vampires and looked down at the top of Ron's head.**

"**Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you —"**

"Hermione why do you always have to do that," said Ron rolling his eyes.

"What do you mean Ronald!" she snapped her eyes glaring into Ron's blue ones.

"Well, you always have to act as though you are better than us because you never put a step out of line. Always looking down your nose disappointed in everything we do because it's something you wouldn't dare do." The group from the future knew something bad was going to happen when they glanced to Draco, Harry, Ginny and Neville and saw them grimace and look away.

"Ronald Weasley! How dare you assume such a thing, just because I wasn't stupid enough to fly a car that had been tinkered with all the way to school does not make mean I am a stick in the mud!" Her eyes were fiery and her hands were twitching and Ron knew if she had her wand in her hand then he would have been toast.

"**Don't tell me I deserved it," snapped Ron.**

**Harry pushed his porridge away. His insides were burning with guilt. Mr Weasley was facing an inquiry at work. After all Mr and Mrs Weasley had done for him over the summer…** **But he had no time to dwell on this; Professor McGonagall was moving along the Gryffindor table, handing out course schedules. Harry took his and saw that they had double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs first.**

"We always have Herbology with the Slytherins," said James.

"Yeah we always have Potions with the Slytherins. I'd love to have it with the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs just once. I hope you're writing that down headmaster." Said Ginny watching intently as Dumbledore chuckled and wrote it down.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the castle together, crossed the vegetable patch, and made for the greenhouses, where the magical plants were kept. At least the Howler had done one good thing:** **Hermione seemed to think they had now been punished enough and was being perfectly friendly again.**

**As they neared the greenhouses they saw the rest of the class standing outside, waiting for Professor Sprout. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had only just joined them when she came striding into view across the lawn, accompanied by Gilderoy Lockhart. Professor Sprout's arms were full of bandages, and with another twinge of guilt, Harry spotted the Whomping Willow in the distance, several of its branches now in slings.**

**Professor Sprout was a squat little witch who wore a patched hat over her flyaway hair; there was usually a large amount of earth on her clothes and her fingernails would have made Aunt Petunia faint.**

**Gilderoy Lockhart, however, was immaculate in sweeping robes of turquoise, his golden hair shining under a perfectly positioned turquoise hat with gold trimming.** "**Oh, hello there!" he called, beaming around at the assembled students. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! **

**I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels…"**

"Yes I am sure he has, the fact these trees are very very rare means nothing to him." spat Professor McGonagall already disliking the man.

"**Greenhouse three today, class!" said Professor Sprout, who was looking distinctly disgruntled, not at all her usual cheerful self.**

**There was a murmur of interest. They had only ever worked in greenhouse one before — greenhouse three housed far more interesting and dangerous plants. Professor Sprout took a large key from her belt and unlocked the door. Harry caught a whiff of damp earth and fertilizer mingling with the heavy perfume of some giant, umbrella-sized flowers dangling from the ceiling. He was about to follow Ron and Hermione inside when Lockhart's hand shot out.**

"**Harry! I've been wanting a word — you don't mind if he's a couple of minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?"**

**Judging by Professor Sprout's scowl, she did mind, but Lockhart said, "That's the ticket," and closed the greenhouse door in her face.**

"I already dislike him and I have to work with him." said Severus his face sneered sourly.

"I'm afraid so Sevy," said Draco. "And it gets better. I'm loving this chapter already." smirked Draco who found Harry's predicament very amusing.

"**Harry," said Lockhart, his large white teeth gleaming in the sunlight as he shook his head. "Harry, Harry, Harry."** **Completely flummoxed, Harry said nothing.**

"**When I heard — well, of course, it was my entire fault. Could have kicked myself."**

"What is he on about?" said Narcissa.

"It's okay Narcissa Harry doesn't know either." Remus chuckled. "Just listen Harry had no idea what he was talking about. He was about to say so when Lockhart went on,"

"Great he's gonna continue talking." Regulus said rolling his eyes.

**"Don't know when I've been more shocked. Flying a car to Hogwarts! Well, of course, I knew at once why you'd done it. Stood out a mile. Harry, Harry, Harry."** **It was remarkable how he could show every one of those brilliant teeth even when he wasn't talking.** "**Gave you a taste for publicity, didn't I?" said Lockhart. "Gave you the bug. You got onto the front page of the paper with me and you couldn't wait to do it again."**

"**Oh, no, Professor, see —"**

"**Harry, Harry, Harry," said Lockhart, reaching out and grasping his shoulder. "I understand. Natural to want a bit more once you've had that first taste — and I blame myself for giving you that, because it was bound to go to your head- but see here, young man, you can't start flying cars to try and get yourself noticed. Just calm down, all right? Plenty of time for all that when you're older. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking! 'It's all right for him, he's an internationally famous wizard already!' But when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now.** **In fact, I'd say I was even more of a nobody! I mean, a few people have heard of you, haven't they?**

**All that business with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" He glanced at the lightning scar on Harry's forehead. "I know, I know — it's not quite as good as winning Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award five times in a row, as I have — but it's a start, Harry, it's a start."**

"Someone please shut him up." Groaned James, "he is the most obnoxious man I have ever heard of. This must be an upside to being dead! I don't have to listen to him." everyone laughed, finally there was a good reason to be dead in the future."

**He gave Harry a hearty wink and strode off.**

**Harry stood stunned for a few seconds, then, remembering he was supposed to be in the greenhouse, he opened the door and slid inside.**

**Professor Sprout was standing behind a trestle bench in the centre of the greenhouse. About twenty pairs of different-coloured ear muffs were lying on the bench. When Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said, "We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"**

**To nobody's surprise, Hermione's hand was first into the air.**

"**Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," said Hermione, like the previous year her speech could have been read out of a text book.**

"Hermione, do you have a photographic memory?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure it would make sense, I mean I am able to remember a large amount of information at one time."

"Sorry, what's a photographic memory?" said Bellatrix who had become confused.

"A photographic memory isthe ability to recall images, sounds, text or objects in memory with extreme precision. In other words, you can remember things that you have seen heard or read and be able to recite the exact information later on." Hermione explained.

"**It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."**

"**Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"**

**Hermione's hand narrowly missed Harry's glasses as it shot up again.**

"**The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," she said promptly.**

"**Precisely. Take another ten points," said Professor Sprout. "Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young."**

**She pointed to a row of deep trays as she spoke, and everyone shuffled forward for a better look. A hundred or so tufty little plants, purplish green in colour, were growing there in rows. They looked quite unremarkable to Harry, who didn't have the slightest idea what Hermione meant by the "cry" of the Mandrake.**

"**Everyone take a pair of earmuffs," said Professor Sprout.**

**There was a scramble as everyone tried to seize a pair that wasn't pink and fluffy.**

"**When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered," said Professor Sprout. "When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right — earmuffs on."**

**Harry snapped the earmuffs over his ears. They shut out sound completely. Professor Sprout put the pink, fluffy pair over her own ears, rolled up the sleeves of her robes, grasped one of the tufty plants firmly, and pulled hard.**

**Harry let out a gasp of surprise that no one could hear.**

**Instead of roots, a small, muddy, and extremely ugly baby popped out of the earth. The leaves were growing right out of his head. He had pale green, mottled skin, and was clearly bawling at the top of his lungs.**

**Professor Sprout took a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the Mandrake into it, burying him in dark, damp compost until only the tufted leaves were visible. Professor Sprout dusted off her hands, gave them all the thumbs-up, and removed her own earmuffs.**

"**As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet," she said calmly as though she'd just done nothing more exciting than water a begonia.**

"**However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up.**

"**Four to a tray — there is a large supply of pots here — compost in the sacks over there — and be careful of the Venomous Tentacula, it's teething."**

"Sweet a teething Venomous Tentacula what I'd give to put one of them in my bedroom in case mummy dearest every tries to enter it while I'm gone." Sighed Sirius sadly but got the reaction he was hoping for as the group laughed.

"Please Sirius, dear Aunt Walburga is a Venomous Tentacula at the best of times, she'd try and raise it as a mini her." Narcissa said, she had never liked her Aunty.

**She gave a sharp slap to a spiky, dark red plant as she spoke, making it draw in the long feelers that had been inching sneakily over her shoulder.**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione were joined at their tray by a curly-haired Hufflepuff boy Harry knew by sight but had never spoken to.**

"**Justin Finch-Fletchley," he said brightly, shaking Harry by the hand. "Know who you are, of course, the famous Harry Potter… And you're Hermione Granger — always top in everything" Hermione beamed happily with the compliment. "— and Ron Weasley. Wasn't that your flying car?"**

**Ron didn't smile. The Howler was obviously still on his mind.**

"**That Lockhart's something isn't he?" said Justin happily as they began filling their plant pots with dragon dung compost. "Awfully brave chap. Have you read his books? I'd have died of fear if I'd been cornered in a telephone booth by a werewolf, but he stayed cool and — zap — just fantastic.**

"Wait, did he say he was trapped in a telephone booth with a werewolf?" said James who had haltered Remus's reading and had purposely caught the amused eyes of his friend. "I'm beginning to get the impression this bloke is a fictional writer and all of what he has said he's done is a load of codswallop."

"I agree with Potter on this one, this guy is a joke and we've how many more chapters of him to listen to?" said Bellatrix the familiar sneer etched upon her face.

"Another 12 or more I'd say." Neville said; he was proud of himself for keeping his hate for the woman in control.

"**My name was down for Eton, you know. I can't tell you how glad I am I came here instead. Of course, Mother was slightly disappointed, but since I made her read Lockhart's books I think she's begun to see how useful it'll be to have a fully trained wizard in the family…"**

"Wait what is Eton?" asked Narcissa.

"Well if I remember correctly, Eton is a private boys only Muggle school, it's really expensive the British Royal family: Prince Harry and William attended there." said Harry.

**After that they didn't have much chance to talk. Their earmuffs were back on and they needed to concentrate on the Mandrakes. Professor Sprout had made it look extremely easy, but it wasn't. The Mandrakes didn't like coming out of the earth, but didn't seem to want to go back into it either.**

**They squirmed, kicked, flailed their sharp little fists, and gnashed their teeth; Harry spent ten whole minutes trying to squash a particularly fat one into a pot.**

**By the end of the class, Harry, like everyone else, was sweaty, aching, and covered in earth. Everyone traipsed back to the castle for a quick wash and then the Gryffindors hurried off to Transfiguration.**

**Professor McGonagall's classes were always hard work, but today's were especially difficult. Everything Harry had learned last year seemed to have leaked out of his head during the summer.**

"That's very common for us to see in the younger years, that's why we start with something we've learnt already before," said Professor McGonagall.

**He was supposed to be turning a beetle into a button, but all he managed to do was give his beetle a lot of exercise as it scuttled over the desktop avoiding his wand.**

**Ron was having far worse problems. He had patched up his wand with some borrowed Spellotape, but it seemed to be damaged beyond repair.**

**It kept crackling and sparking at odd moments, and every time Ron tried to transfigure his beetle it engulfed him in thick grey smoke that smelled of rotten eggs.**

**Unable to see what he was doing, Ron accidentally squashed his beetle with his elbow and had to ask for a new one. Professor McGonagall wasn't pleased.**

"Cheer up Professor it's not his fault he stole our father's car drove it all the way to Hogwarts crashed into the Whomping Willow and snapped his wand." Smirked Ginny while the Transfiguration Professor chuckled amused.

"Yes you see Professor it wasn't my fault at all that I had broken my wand, I mean you should really blame the Whomping Willow, if it hadn't have hit us back my wand would have been fine. That tree really needs anger management lessons." Ron said with a fake seriousness to his voice.

**Harry was relieved to hear the lunch bell. His brain felt like a wrung sponge. Everyone filed out of the classroom except him and Ron, who was whacking his wand furiously on the desk.**

"**Stupid — useless — thing —"**

"**Write home for another one," Harry suggested as the wand let off a volley of bangs like a firecracker.**

"**Oh, yeah, and get another Howler back," said Ron, stuffing the now hissing wand into his bag.** "**It's your own fault your wand got snapped — '"**

**They went down to lunch, where Ron's mood was not improved by Hermione's showing them the handful of perfect coat buttons she had produced in Transfiguration.**

"Show off," Severus muttered.

"**What've we got this afternoon?" said Harry, hastily changing the subject.**

"**Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione at once.**

"**Why," demanded Ron, seizing her schedule, "have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?"** **Hermione snatched the schedule back, blushing furiously.**

"Oh Hermione you didn't," sighed Alice, "I had so much respect for you and now it's gone." Hermione laughed a little her cheeks dusted with a light shade of pink.

"I was only 12 nearly 13 at the time give a girl a break."

"It must have been the white teeth and blonde hair that she had a thing for." Frank chuckled.

"Draco has white teeth and blonde hair, you never had a thing for him Hermione?" questioned Narcissa with a smirk wide enough for the entire school to see.

"I'm sorry to say Narcissa that I've never had a thing for cockroaches and ferrets."

"Aww Granger that hurts, I thought we had something you know," Draco sniffed pretending to wipe away the unshed tears.

"Let's get on with the book," chuckled Harry laughing at Draco's display of being upset.

**They finished lunch and went outside into the overcast courtyard. Hermione sat down on a stone step and buried her nose in Voyages with Vampires again. Harry and Ron stood talking about Quidditch for several minutes before Harry became aware that he was being closely watched. Looking up, he saw the very small, mousy-haired boy he'd seen trying on the Sorting Hat last night staring at Harry as though transfixed. He was clutching what looked like an ordinary Muggle camera, and the moment Harry looked at him, he went bright red.**

"**All right, Harry? I'm — I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think — would it be all right if — can I have a picture?" he said, raising the camera hopefully.**

"**A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.**

"**So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead" his eyes raked Harry's hairline "and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures will move." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you" — he looked earnestly at Harry — "maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"**

"Aww that's rather cute actually," said Lily giggling, "he seems like a really nervous first year."

"Yeah Colin was alright, nice enough kid a bit annoying at times but he did no harm," said Ron, "he only wanted a picture,"

Dumbledore again noticed the use of past tense when the boy was spoken about and he was saddened to think the future wasn't so bright for young Colin Creevey.

"**Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?"**

**Loud and scathing, Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin, flanked, as he always was at Hogwarts, by his large and thuggish cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.**

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd pop up in this chapter?" said Peter.

"Well here I am, can't have a chapter without me."

"**Everyone line up!" Malfoy roared to the crowd. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"**

"**No, I'm not," said Harry angrily, his fists clenching. "Shut up, Malfoy."**

"**You're just jealous," piped up Colin, whose entire body was about as thick as Crabbe's neck.**

"You know Harry, I don't think Crabbe and Goyle were really that big, I mean they looked big to us but they weren't giants like your describing them as." Neville pointed out, Harry grinned sheepishly and admitted that Neville was probably right.

"**Jealous?" said Malfoy, who didn't need to shout anymore: half the courtyard was listening in. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special myself."**

**Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering stupidly.**

"**Eat slugs, Malfoy," said Ron angrily. Crabbe stopped laughing and started rubbing his knuckles in a menacing way.**

"**Be careful, Weasley," sneered Malfoy. "You don't want to start any trouble or your Mommy will have to come and take you away from school." He put on a shrill, piercing voice. "'If you put another toe out of line'—"**

**A knot of Slytherin fifth-years nearby laughed loudly at this.**

"**Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter," smirked Malfoy. "It'd be worth more than his family's whole house —"**

"Along with being a cockroach and a ferret he's also a prat." Hermione muttered.

"You've an awful lot of nicknames." Lucius said and Draco nodded.

"That's only a few,"

**Ron whipped out his Spellotaped wand, but Hermione shut Voyages with Vampires with a snap and whispered, "Look out!"**

"**What's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding toward them, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?"**

**Harry started to speak but he was cut short as Lockhart flung an arm around his shoulders and thundered jovially, "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!"**

**Pinned to Lockhart's side and burning with humiliation, Harry saw Malfoy slide smirking back into the crowd.**

"**Come on then, Mr Creevey," said Lockhart, beaming at Colin. "A double portrait can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you."**

**Colin fumbled for his camera and took the picture as the bell rang behind them, signalling the start of afternoon classes.**

"**Off you go, move along there," Lockhart called to the crowd, and he set off back to the castle with Harry, who was wishing he knew a good Vanishing Spell, still clasped to his side.**

"**A word to the wise, Harry," said Lockhart paternally as they entered the building through a side door. "I covered up for you back there with young Creevey — if he was photographing me, too, your schoolmates won't think you're setting yourself up so much…"**

"Can we skip this bit please, I don't want to hear any more about that insufferable man!" snapped Andromeda.

"Nope sorry, how you think we felt having to put up with him for a year?" said Ginny, "It was a lovely feeling starting Hogwarts to learn your DADA teacher was a complete pompous prat."

**Deaf to Harry's stammers, Lockhart swept him down a corridor lined with staring students and up a staircase.**

"**Let me just say that handing out signed pictures at this stage of your career isn't sensible — looks a tad big-headed, Harry, to be frank. There may well come a time when, like me, you'll need to keep a stack handy wherever you go, but" — he gave a little chortle — "I don't think you're quite there yet."**

**They had reached Lockhart's classroom and he let Harry go at last. Harry yanked his robes straight and headed for a seat at the very back of the class, where he busied himself with piling all seven of Lockhart's books in front of him, so that he could avoid looking at the real thing.**

"Definitely Potter's son," droned Severus seeing James do this once before.

**The rest of the class came clattering in, and Ron and Hermione sat down on either side of Harry.**

"**You could've fried an egg on your face" said Ron. "You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny, or they'll be starting a Harry Potter fan club."**

"**Shut up," snapped Harry. The last thing he needed was for Lockhart to hear the phrase Harry Potter fan club.**

**When the whole class was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and silence fell. He reached forward, picked up Neville Longbottom's copy of Travels with Trolls, and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front.**

"**Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well.**

"**Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League,** **and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"**

**He waited for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly.**

"Dumbledore if anything comes out of this, if you hire that idiot as a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor you'll not see the next school year. Is that understood Headmaster!" the Scottish Professor snapped, there was only so much of this man she could take and it was only the first chapter about the year, she knew straight away it was going to be a long book."

"Crystal clear Professor McGonagall." He said confidently but the sparkle in his eyes was dimmer than before.

"**I see you've all bought a complete set of my books — well done.** **I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about — just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in —"**

**When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes — start —now!"**

**Harry looked down at his paper and read:**

**1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?**

**2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?**

**3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?**

**On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to:**

**54. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?**

"Well you'll all be able to fight the bad guys now all you'll need to know is Lockharts favourite colour and you've cracked it." Remus said sarcastically. "I can't believe this man I thought Malfoy was full of himself but he takes the cake." Lucius scowled at Remus but he paid no attention looking back at the page.

**Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class.**

"**Tut, tut — hardly any of you remembered that my favourite colour is lilac.** **I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully — I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Fire whiskey!"**

**He gave them another roguish wink.**

**Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face;**

**Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter.**

**Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and gave a start when he mentioned her name.**

"… **but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions – good girl! In fact" — he flipped her paper over — "full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"**

"HERMIONE!" cried Sirius. "What were you thinking?" Hermione looked up the pink dusted on her cheeks from before was bright as a cherry and now covered her face. Everyone in the room looked at her in disbelief a few people were shaking their heads telling her how disappointed they were with her.

**Hermione raised a trembling hand.**

"**Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so — to business —"**

**He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.**

"**Now — be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."**

**In spite of himself, Harry leaned around his pile of books for a better look at the cage. Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus had stopped laughing now. Neville was cowering in his front row seat.**

"**I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."**

**As the whole class held its breath, Lockhart whipped off the cover.**

"**Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."**

"That speech for some silly Cornish pixies, this man is a joke and I rest my case," said Lucius who was disappointed, "Hogwarts is really going downhill if that's the only person you can get for DADA,"

**Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror.**

"**Yes?" He smiled at Seamus.**

"**Well, they're not — they're not very —dangerous, are they?" Seamus choked.**

"**Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart, waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus. "Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"**

**The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing. The moment the cover had been removed, they had started jabbering and rocketing around, rattling the bars and making bizarre faces at the people nearest them.**

"**Right, then," Lockhart said loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.**

**It was pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like rockets. Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air.**

"Oh Neville, why is it always you?" sighed Alice but Neville just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Hidden talent maybe?"

**Several shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass.**

**The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino. They grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, tore pictures from the walls, up-ended the waste basket, grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window; within minutes, half the class was sheltering under desks and Neville was swinging from the iron chandelier in the ceiling.**

"**Come on now — round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted.**

**He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"**

**It had absolutely no effect; one of the pixies seized his wand and threw it out of the window, too. Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk,** **narrowly avoiding being squashed by Neville, who fell a second later as the chandelier gave way.**

Dumbledore pulled on his collar he had really screwed up this time.

**The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit. In the relative calm that followed, Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were almost at the door, and said, "Well, I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.**

"**Can you believe him?" roared Ron as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear.**

"**He just wants to give us some hands-on experience," said Hermione,** **immobilizing two pixies at once with a clever Freezing Charm and stuffing them back into their cage.**

"**Hands on?" said Harry, who was trying to grab a pixie dancing out of reach with its tongue out. "Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing —"**

"**Rubbish," said Hermione. "You've read his books — look at all those amazing things he's done —"**

"**He says he's done," Ron muttered.**

"And that is the end of the next chapter. There is no point asking what we've learnt from this chapter because we'll all say the same thing. Lockhart is a completely and utter idiot." Exclaimed Remus and everybody nodded their heads.

Seeking his moment Draco leaned over to Hermione and whispered, "You know Granger it's taken one chapter for everyone in the room to realise what an idiot Lockhart is but it took you nearly and entire school year. Funny I thought you were the brightest witch of our year," the blonde smirked but Hermione didn't say a word, she lifted her arm and backhanded him straight in the nose. The sound of ow coming from the blonde and the smug look on Hermione's face left nobody guessing what had happened.

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**Please review :)**


	7. Mudbloods and Murmurs

**Here is the next chapter, not really a fan of the Chamber of Secrets but i'll keep at it but I really want to get on to the Prisoner of Azkaban. That's my favourite book and it'll be so much fun to portray the Marauder's opinions.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters nor do I make any money from doing this it's all for enjoyment.**

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**Mudbloods and Murmurs**

"Moving on," said Harry glancing at the scowling blonde and smug brunette. "Who'd like to read the next chapter?"

"I may as well take my turn," said Lucius, "how bad could this chapter be?"

"Famous last words Malfoy," chuckled Lily

"Yup, because I know exactly what this chapter is about," said Ron looking at Draco. Realising what Ron meant Draco's eyes widened and he scratched the back of his neck.

Remus handed over the book and Lucius flicked to the page and scanned the title, he froze. Out of all the story chapters he could have chosen to read he would have to do this one. "This title is called…" he looked between Lily and Hermione "Mudbloods and Murmurs."

"I don't like where this is going?" said James, he too glanced between Lily and Hermione. His eyes staying on the bushy haired Gryffindor he just knew the Mudblood comment was sent to her and as he looked around the room he could easily see that everyone else thought the same.

**Harry spent a lot of time over the next few days dodging out of sight whenever he saw Gilderoy Lockhart coming down a corridor. **

**Harder to avoid was Colin Creevey, who seemed to have memorized Harry's schedule. **

**Nothing seemed to give Colin a bigger thrill than to say, "All right, Harry?" six or seven times a day and hear, "Hello, Colin," back, however exasperated Harry sounded when he said it.**

"I assumed you were all into the fan club thing Potter,"

"No Malfoy only you wanted to be followed around like a super star," Harry rolled his eyes he knew Draco had been jealous of the attention he had been given throughout his second year.

"Please Potter, I had Crabbe Goyle and Pansy following me around, that was enough."

**Hedwig was still angry with Harry about the disastrous car journey** **and Ron's wand was still malfunctioning, surpassing itself on Friday morning by shooting out of Ron's hand in Charms and hitting tiny old Professor Flitwick squarely between the eyes, creating a large, throbbing green boil where it had struck. **

**So with one thing and another, Harry was quite glad to reach the weekend. He, Ron, and Hermione were planning to visit Hagrid on Saturday morning. Harry, however, was shaken awake several hours earlier than he would have liked by Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.**

**"Whassamatter?" said Harry groggily.**

**"Quidditch practice!" said Wood. "Come on!"**

**Harry squinted at the window. There was a thin mist hanging across the pink-and-gold sky. Now that he was awake, he couldn't understand how he could have slept through the racket the birds were making.**

**"Oliver," Harry croaked. "It's the crack of dawn."**

"He's gotten you out of bed at the crack of dawn for Quidditch practice?" cried Sirius in surprise, "even James doesn't do that and he's all we've got to be the Slytherins"

"That's because Sirius, Jamesy here loves his sleep more than his passion for Quidditch," chuckled Remus; James frowned at his friend but could deny the allocations after all he really did love his sleep.

**"Exactly," said Wood. He was a tall and burly sixth year and, at the moment, his eyes were gleaming with a crazed enthusiasm. **

**"It's part of our new training program. Come on, grab your broom, and let's go," said Wood heartily. "None of the other teams have started training yet; we're going to be first off the mark this year -"**

**Yawning and shivering slightly, Harry climbed out of bed and tried to find his Quidditch robes.**

**"Good man," said Wood. "Meet you on the field in fifteen minutes."**

**When he'd found his scarlet team robes and pulled on his cloak for warmth, Harry scribbled a note to Ron explaining where he'd gone and went down the spiral staircase to the common room, his Nimbus Two Thousand on his shoulder. He had just reached the portrait hole when there was a clatter behind him and Colin Creevey came dashing down the spiral staircase, his camera swinging madly around his neck and something clutched in his hand.**

**"I heard someone saying your name on the stairs, Harry! Look what I've got here! I've had it developed, I wanted to show you -"**

**Harry looked bemusedly at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose.**

**A moving, black-and-white Lockhart was tugging hard on an arm Harry recognized as his own. He was pleased to see that his** **photographic self was putting up a good fight and refusing to be dragged into view. **

**As Harry watched, Lockhart gave up and slumped, panting, against the white edge of the picture.**

**"Will you sign it?" said Colin eagerly.**

**"No," said Harry flatly, glancing around to check that the room was really deserted. "Sorry, Colin, I'm in a hurry - Quidditch practice -"**

**He climbed through the portrait hole.**

**"Oh, wow! Wait for me! I've never watched a Quidditch game before!"**

**Colin scrambled through the hole after him.**

**"It'll be really boring," Harry said quickly,** **but Colin ignored him, his face shining with excitement.**

**"You were the youngest House player in a hundred years, weren't you, Harry? Weren't you?" said Colin, trotting alongside him. "You must be brilliant. I've never flown. Is it easy? Is that your own broom? Is that the best one there is?"**

**Harry didn't know how to get rid of him. It was like having an extremely talkative shadow.**

**"I don't really understand Quidditch," said Colin breathlessly. "Is it true there are four balls? And two of them fly around trying to knock people off their brooms?"**

**"Yes," said Harry heavily, resigned to explaining the complicated rules of Quidditch.**

"How did you get rid of him?" laughed Alice.

"I can't remember but I do get rid of him eventually," said Harry he could hear the emotion in his voice as he pictured the lifeless body of Colin after the war.

**"They're called Bludgers. There are two Beaters, on each team they carry clubs to beat the Bludgers away from their side. Fred and George Weasley are the Gryffindor Beaters."**

**"And what are the other balls for?" Colin asked, tripping down a couple of steps because he was gazing open-mouthed at Harry.**

**"Well, the Quaffle - that's the biggish red one - is the one that scores goals. Three Chasers on each team throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through the goal posts at the end of the pitch - they're three long poles with hoops on the end."**

**"And the fourth ball -"**

**"- is the Golden Snitch," said Harry, "and it's very small, very fast, and difficult to catch. But that's what the Seeker's got to do, because a game of Quidditch doesn't end until the Snitch has been caught. And whichever team's Seeker gets the Snitch earns his team an extra hundred and fifty points."**

**"And you're the Gryffindor Seeker, aren't you?" said Colin in awe.**

**"Yes," said Harry as they left the castle and started across the dew drenched grass. "And there's the Keeper, too. He guards the goal posts. That's it, really."**

**But Colin didn't stop questioning Harry all the way down the sloping lawns to the Quidditch field, and Harry only shook him off when he reached the changing rooms; Colin called after him in a piping voice, "I'll go and get a good seat, Harry!" and hurried off to the stands.**

**The rest of the Gryffindor team were already in the changing room.**

**Wood was the only person who looked truly awake. **

**Fred and George Weasley were sitting, puffy-eyed and tousle haired, next to fourth year Alicia Spinnet, who seemed to be nodding off against the wall behind** **her. Her fellow Chasers, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, were yawning side by side opposite them.**

"Same as last year then," said Narcissa.

**"There you are, Harry, what kept you?" said Wood briskly. "Now, I wanted a quick talk with you all before we actually get onto the field, because I spent the summer devising a whole new training program, which I really think will make all the difference ..." Wood was holding up a large diagram of a Quidditch field, on which were drawn many lines, arrows, and crosses in different coloured inks.**

"Does he play Quidditch professionally?" asked Snape overwhelmed that someone had wasted their Summer thinking it all up.

"Yeah, Oliver is in Puddlemere United. Nice guy was Oliver but it's not someone you hoped to see in the early hours of the morning," said Ron remembering how often Harry had ran when he'd seen Oliver coming towards them at breakfast.

**He took out his wand, tapped the board, and the arrows began to wiggle over the diagram like caterpillars. As Wood launched into a speech about his new tactics, Fred Weasley's head drooped right onto Alicia Spinnet's shoulder and he began to snore. **

**The first board took nearly twenty minutes to explain, but there was another board under that, and a third under that one. Harry sank into a stupor as Wood droned on and on.**

**"So," said Wood, at long last, jerking Harry from a wistful fantasy about what he could be eating for breakfast at this very moment up at the castle. **

**"Is that clear? Any questions?"**

**"I've got a question, Oliver," said George, who had woken with a start. "Why couldn't you have told us all this yesterday when we were awake?"**

**Wood wasn't pleased.**

**"Now, listen here, you lot," he said, glowering at them all. "We should have won the Quidditch cup last year. We're easily the best team. **

**But unfortunately -owing to circumstances beyond our control -"**

**Harry shifted guiltily in his seat. **

**He had been unconscious in the hospital wing for the final match of the previous year, meaning that Gryffindor had been a player short and had suffered their worst defeat in three hundred years.**

**Wood took a moment to regain control of himself. Their last defeat was clearly still torturing him.**

**"So this year, we train harder than ever before ... Okay, let's go and put our new theories into practice!" Wood shouted, seizing his broomstick and leading the way out of the locker rooms. **

"Professor McGonagall, please don't make him Quidditch caption he's bloody barmy!"

"Language Black and I will stick to him being Quidditch Captain he is what a good captain must be."

Ginny leaned over to Harry and whispered unlucky and Harry couldn't help but agree. He liked Wood but like Ron said not in the early hours of the morning.

**Stiff legged and still yawning, his team followed. They had been in the locker room so long that the sun was up completely now, although remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium. As Harry walked onto the field, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in the stands.**

**"Aren't you finished yet?" called Ron incredulously.**

**"Haven't even started," said Harry, looking jealously at the toast and marmalade Ron and Hermione had brought out of the Great Hall. **

**"Wood's been teaching us new moves." He mounted his broomstick and kicked at the ground, soaring up into the air. The cool morning air whipped his face, waking him far more effectively than Wood's long talk. **

**It felt wonderful to be back on the Quidditch field. He soared right around the stadium at full speed, racing Fred and George.**

**"What's that funny clicking noise?" called Fred as they hurtled around the corner.**

**Harry looked into the stands. Colin was sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, taking picture after picture, the sound strangely magnified in the deserted stadium.**

**"Look this way, Harry! This way!" he cried shrilly.**

**"Who's that?" said Fred.**

**"No idea," Harry lied, putting on a spurt of speed that took him as far away as possible from Colin.**

**"What's going on?" said Wood, frowning, as he skimmed through the air toward them. "Why's that first year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program."**

**"He's in Gryffindor," said Harry quickly.**

**"And the Slytherins don't need a spy, Oliver," said George.**

**"What makes you say that?" said Wood testily.**

**"Because they're here in person," said George, pointing.**

**Several people in green robes were walking onto the field, broomsticks in their hands.**

**"I don't believe it!" Wood hissed in outrage. "I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!"**

**Wood shot towards the ground, landing harder than he had meant to in his anger, he staggered slightly as he dismounted. Harry, Fred, and George followed.**

**"Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"**

**Marcus Flint was even larger than Wood. He had a look of trollish cunning on his face as he replied, "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."**

**Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had come over, too. There were no girls on the Slytherin team, who stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the Gryffindors, leering to a man.**

**"But I booked the field!" said Wood, positively spitting with rage. "I booked it!"**

**"Ah," said Flint. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. `****_I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker_****."'**

"What!"

Everyone looked at Snape who simply shrugged.

"I don't know anything about a note…"

"It's okay, you didn't know about a note then either as one didn't exist, we simply made it up," chuckled Draco.

**And from behind the six large figures before them came a seventh, smaller boy, smirking all over his pale, pointed face. It was Draco Malfoy.**

**"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" said Fred, looking at Malfoy with dislike.**

**"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint as the whole Slytherin team smiled still more broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."**

"So Lucius bought you on to the team," chuckled Frank, "like father like son, after all I heard Abraxas bought you your way on to the Slytherin Quidditch team."

The news brought huge grins on to Harry's Ron's Hermione's Ginny's and Neville's faces, all thinking the same thing, Malfoy's really couldn't play Quidditch.

**All seven of them held out their broomsticks. Seven highly polished, brand-new handles and seven sets of fine gold lettering spelling the words Nimbus Two Thousand and One gleamed under the Gryffindors' noses in the early morning sun.**

**"Very latest model. Only came out last month," said Flint carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. "I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount; as for the old Cleansweeps" - he smiled nastily at Fred and George, who were both clutching Cleansweep Fives - "sweeps the board with them."**

**None of the Gryffindor team could think of anything to say for a moment. **

**Malfoy was smirking so broadly his cold eyes were reduced to slits.**

**"Oh, look," said Flint. "A field invasion."**

**Ron and Hermione were crossing the grass to see what was going on.**

**"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?" He was looking at Malfoy, taking in his Slytherin Quidditch robes.**

**"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Malfoy, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team.**

**Ron gaped, open-mouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him.**

**"Good, aren't they?" said Malfoy smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."**

**The Slytherin team howled with laughter.**

**"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," said Hermione sharply. "They got in on pure talent."**

**The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered.**

"Good on you Hermione," said Peter and her face tightened but she managed a weak smile.

**"No one asked for your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat.**

**Lucius stopped reading and everyone including him looked at Draco who looked incredibly guilty and a little embarrassed. He should have known his prejudice would come back and get him later on.**

**Harry knew at once that Malfoy had said something really bad because there was an instant uproar at his words. Flint had to dive in front of Malfoy to stop Fred and George jumping on him, Alicia shrieked, "How dare you!"; and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand, yelling, "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" and pointed it furiously under Flint's arm at Malfoy's face.**

"Wait a minute, isn't your wand damaged Weasley?" Ron nodded his head at Bellatrix's words and her eyes widened. "This isn't going to go well is it?" she looked at Lucius wanting him to continue.

**A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backward onto the grass.**

**"Ron! Ron! Are you all right?" squealed Hermione.**

**Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth onto his lap.**

**The Slytherin team were paralysed with laughter. Flint was doubled over, hanging onto his new broomstick for support. Malfoy was on all fours, banging the ground with his fist. **

**The Gryffindors were gathered around Ron, who kept belching large, glistening slugs. Nobody seemed to want to touch him.**

**"We'd better get him to Hagrid's, it's nearest," said Harry to Hermione, who nodded bravely, and the pair of them pulled Ron up by the arms.**

**"What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill? But you can cure him, can't you?" **

**Colin had run down from his seat and was now dancing alongside them as they left the field. Ron gave a huge heave and more slugs dribbled down his front.**

**"Oooh," said Colin, fascinated and raising his camera. "Can you hold him still, Harry?"**

"That is disgusting," said Ginny wrinkling her nose. She didn't know Colin had such a huge obsession.

**"Get out of the way, Colin!" said Harry angrily. He and Hermione supported Ron out of the stadium and across the grounds toward the edge of the forest.**

**"Nearly there, Ron," said Hermione as the gamekeeper's cabin came into view. "You'll be all right in a minute - almost there -"**

**They were within twenty feet of Hagrid's house when the front door opened, but it wasn't Hagrid who emerged. Gilderoy Lockhart, wearing robes of palest mauve today, came striding out.**

**"Quick, behind here," Harry hissed, dragging Ron behind a nearby bush. Hermione followed, somewhat reluctantly.**

**"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing!" Lockhart was saying loudly to Hagrid. "If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book. I'm surprised you haven't already got one - I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, good-bye!" And he strode away toward the castle.**

**Harry waited until Lockhart was out of sight and then pulled Ron out of the bush and up to Hagrid's front door. They knocked urgently.**

**Hagrid appeared at once, looking very grumpy, but his expression brightened when he saw who it was.**

**"Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me - come in, come in - thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again -"**

"Even Hagrid doesn't like him," said Neville, "Nobody likes Gilderoy Lockhart,"

**Harry and Hermione supported Ron over the threshold into the one roomed cabin, which had an enormous bed in one corner, a fire crackling merrily in the other. Hagrid didn't seem perturbed by Ron's slug problem,** **which Harry hastily explained as he lowered Ron into a chair.**

**"Better out than in," he said cheerfully, plunking a large copper basin in front of him. "Get 'em all up, Ron."**

**"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop," said Hermione anxiously, watching Ron bend over the basin. "That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand -"**

**Hagrid was bustling around making them tea. His boarhound, Fang, was slobbering over Harry.**

**"****Fangs a nice dog, he wouldn't hurt a fly but man he slobbers all over you!" said Harry wrinkling his nose.**

**"What did Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?" Harry asked, scratching Fang's ears.**

**"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well," growled Hagrid, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot. "Like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle."**

**It was most unlike Hagrid to criticize a Hogwarts' teacher, and Harry looked at him in surprise. **

**Hermione, however, said in a voice somewhat higher than usual, "I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job-"**

**"He wa' the only man for the job," said Hagrid, offering them a plate of treacle fudge, while Ron coughed squelchy into his basin. "An' I mean the only one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. **

**So tell me," said Hagrid, jerking his head at Ron. "Who was he tryin' ter curse?"**

**"Malfoy called Hermione something - it must've been really bad, because everyone went wild."**

**"It was bad," said Ron hoarsely, emerging over the tabletop looking pale and sweaty. "Malfoy called her `Mudblood,' Hagrid -" Ron dived out of sight again as a fresh wave of slugs made their appearance. **

**Hagrid looked outraged.**

**"He didn'!" he growled at Hermione.**

**"He did," she said. "But I don't know what it means. I could tell it was really rude, of course -"**

"Something Granger doesn't know," Draco exclaimed trying to look shocked, but fighting the urge to laugh at her face and the others was proving difficult.

"Malfoy, unless you'd like to be puking up slugs I'd be very quiet if I was you," she whispered deadly, "I can make you a very attractive ferret if you'd prefer."

**"It's about the most insulting thing he could think of," gasped Ron, coming back up. "Mudblood is a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born - you know, non-magic parents. There are some wizards - like Malfoy's family - who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood."**

**He gave a small burp, and a single slug fell into his outstretched hand. He threw it into the basin and continued, "I mean… the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all. Look at Neville Longbottom - he's pure-blood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up."**

**"An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can' do," said Hagrid proudly, making Hermione go a brilliant shade of magenta.**

**"It's a disgusting thing to call someone," said Ron, wiping his sweaty brow with a shaking hand. "Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's ridiculous. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out."**

"That's true; purebloods are so interbred now that it's extremely common for an offspring to be a squib. Plus it's almost impossible to find a suitable partner that isn't somehow related to them." explained Hermione. Draco scoffed at the news; of course there were suitable partners for him.

"Not only that, dad told me about a rumour he heard, the reason you're an only child Malfoy is because Mummy and Daddy over there struggled to even had you, your family is so interbred that your parents are infertile. That also means there is a very high chance you won't be able to reproduce," Draco stared at Ron in horror.

"What you mean I may not be able to have children!"

"You see Mr Malfoy, interbreeding has many side effects if it is done over a long period of time. There is no doubt that the Blacks are heavily interbred and I am sure you know that the Malfoy's have married the Blacks more than twice already. If interbreeding is continued the child can have deformities, one of these is infertility and it's never been a secret that the Malfoy's are having fertility issues, the last four generations have only produced one heir." Explained Dumbledore to a horrified Lucius and Draco, "I think you should set your prejudice views aside and marry someone who isn't a pureblood but for all we know the damage could already be done."

"No more Malfoys, if only," whispered Ron and Harry nodded; he'd had his fair share of the obnoxious family.

"Bellatrix never had any children could she be infertile?" Harry asked, and the occupants in the room looked between the two of them.

"I am infertile," admitted Bellatrix quietly. She had known for a while she couldn't have children, Rodolphus and her had tried and even looked towards medical help but it was announced that she would not be able to reproduce. She had yet to tell anyone,"

"Bella why didn't you say so?" said Narcissa in shock, her hand covering her mouth. Andromeda looked surprised at the new but she could relate.

"I was ashamed," she said looking down, the whole point of her marriage was to reproduce and continue the Lestrange name.

"I couldn't have children, I had to take this Muggle medication to help me conceive and I now have my daughter but it'll be very unlikely for me to reproduce."

"It looks as though your blood has been shared by a small selection and now you've become the ones with dirty blood," said Hermione, her words were harsh but she wanted them to hurt, since her first year people like the Malfoy's, and Bellatrix had belittled her because of her status but it appeared she was the only one who had clean blood.

Before an argument could start Dumbledore cleared his throat and informed Lucius to continue reading.

**He retched and ducked out of sight again.**

**"Well, I don' blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron," said Hagrid loudly over the thuds of more slugs hitting the basin. "Bu' maybe it was a good thing yer wand backfired. 'S'pect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son. Least yer not in trouble."**

Lucius grimaced; it was quickly becoming apparent to him that his family were a little pathetic with no backbone.

**Harry would have pointed out that trouble didn't come much worse than having slugs pouring out of your mouth, but he couldn't; Hagrid's treacle fudge had cemented his jaws together.**

**"Harry," said Hagrid abruptly as though struck by a sudden thought. "Gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?"**

**Furious, Harry wrenched his teeth apart.**

**"I have not been giving out signed photos," he said hotly. "If Lockhart's still spreading that around -"**

**But then he saw that Hagrid was laughing.**

**"I'm on'y jokin'," he said, patting Harry genially on the back and sending him face first into the table. "I knew yeh hadn't really. I told Lockhart yeh didn' need teh. Yer more famous than him without tryin'."**

**"Bet he didn't like that," said Harry, sitting up and rubbing his chin.**

**"Don' think he did," said Hagrid, his eyes twinkling. "An' then I told him I'd never read one o' his books an' he decided ter go. Treacle fudge, Ron?" he added as Ron reappeared.**

**"No thanks," said Ron weakly. "Better not risk it."**

**"Come an' see what I've bin growin'," said Hagrid as Harry and Hermione finished the last of their tea.**

**In the small vegetable patch behind Hagrid's house were a dozen of the largest pumpkins Harry had ever seen. Each was the size of a large boulder.**

**"Gettin' on well, aren't they?" said Hagrid happily. "Fer the Halloween feast ... should be big enough by then."**

**"What've you been feeding them?" said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked over his shoulder to check that they were alone.**

**"Well, I've bin givin' them - you know - a bit o' help -"**

**Harry noticed Hagrid's flowery pink umbrella leaning against the back wall of the cabin. Harry had had reason to believe before now that this umbrella was not all it looked; in fact, he had the strong impression that Hagrid's old school wand was concealed inside it. Hagrid wasn't supposed to use magic. He had been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, but Harry had never found out why –any mention of the matter and Hagrid would clear his throat loudly and become mysteriously deaf until the subject was changed.**

"Headmaster, I suppose you know why Hagrid was expelled," said Regulus looking up at the man.

"Yes I do young Mr Black but that doesn't mean I'll be telling you."

"You'll find out later," said Harry and all eyebrows rose.

**"An Engorgement Charm, I suppose?" said Hermione, halfway between disapproval and amusement. "Well, you've done a good job on them."**

**"That's what yer little sister said," said Hagrid, nodding at Ron. "Met her jus' yesterday." Hagrid looked sideways at Harry, his beard twitching. **

**"Said she was jus' lookin' round the grounds, but I reckon she was hopin' she might run inter someone else at my house." He winked at Harry. "If yeh ask me, she wouldn' say no ter a signed -"**

**"Oh, shut up," said Harry. **

**Ron snorted with laughter and the ground was sprayed with slugs.**

**"Watch it!" Hagrid roared, pulling Ron away from his precious pumpkins.**

**It was nearly lunchtime and as Harry had only had one bit of treacle fudge since dawn,** **he was keen to go back to school to eat. They said good-bye to Hagrid and walked back up to the castle, Ron hiccoughing occasionally, but only bringing up two very small slugs. They had barely set foot in the cool entrance hall when a voice rang out, "There you are, Potter - Weasley." Professor McGonagall was walking toward them, looking stern. "You will both do your detentions this evening."**

**"What're we doing, Professor?" said Ron, nervously suppressing a burp.**

**"You will be polishing the silver in the trophy room with Mr. Filch," said Professor McGonagall. "And no magic, Weasley - elbow grease."**

**Ron gulped. Argus Filch, the caretaker, was loathed by every student in the school.**

**"And you, Potter, will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"Oh no - Professor, can't I go and do the trophy room, too?" said Harry desperately.**

**"Certainly not," said Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows. "Professor Lockhart requested you particularly. Eight o'clock sharp, both of you."**

"I'd definitely prefer to have detention with Filch than Lockhart," said Snape, "detention with Lockhart is just torture!"

"No detention and torture is in book five," said Neville causing everyone to look up in horror.

"Mr Longbottom what do you mean by that," snapped Professor McGonagall.

"You'll see later on," said Harry touching his hand subconsciously.

**Harry and Ron slouched into the Great Hall in states of deepest gloom, Hermione behind them, wearing a well-you-did-break-school rules sort of expression. Harry didn't enjoy his shepherd's pie as much as he'd thought. Both he and Ron felt they'd got the worse deal.**

**"Filch'll have me there all night," said Ron heavily. "No magic! There must be about a hundred cups in that room. I'm no good at Muggle cleaning."**

**"I'd swap anytime," said Harry hollowly. "I've had loads of practice with the Dursleys. Answering Lockhart's fan mail ... he'll be a nightmare …"**

**Saturday afternoon seemed to melt away, and in what seemed like no time, it was five minutes to eight, and Harry was dragging his feet along the second-floor corridor to Lockhart's office. He gritted his teeth and knocked. The door flew open at once. Lockhart beamed down at him.**

**"Ah, here's the scallywag!" he said. "Come in, Harry, come in -"**

**Shining brightly on the walls by the light of many candles were countless framed photographs of Lockhart. He had even signed a few of them.**

**Another large pile lay on his desk.**

**"You can address the envelopes!" Lockhart told Harry, as though this was a huge treat. "This first one's to Gladys Gudgeon, bless her - huge fan of mine -"**

**The minutes snailed by. Harry let Lockhart's voice wash over him, occasionally saying, "Mmm" and "Right" and "Yeah." Now and then he caught a phrase like, "Fame's a fickle friend, Harry," or "Celebrity is as celebrity does, remember that."**

**The candles burned lower and lower, making the light dance over the many moving faces of Lockhart watching him. Harry moved his aching hand over what felt like the thousandth envelope, writing out Veronica Smethley's address. It must be nearly time to leave, Harry thought miserably, please let it be nearly time...**

"When something you hate doing always goes slowly, well it doesn't but always feels like it does," said Remus.

**And then he heard something - something quite apart from the spitting of the dying candles and Lockhart's prattle about his fans.**.

**It was a voice, a voice to chill the bone marrow, a voice of breathtaking, ice-cold venom.**

**"Come ... come to me... Let me rip you... Let me tear you ... Let me kill you . .. ."**

**Harry gave a huge jump and a large lilac blot appeared on Veronica Smethley's street.**

**"What?" he said loudly.**

**"I know!" said Lockhart. "Six solid months at the top of the bestseller list! Broke all records!"**

**"No," said Harry frantically. "That voice!"**

**"Sorry?" said Lockhart, looking puzzled. "What voice?"**

**"That - that voice that said - didn't you hear it?"**

"Oh dear Harry, you're beginning to hear voices now," said Andromeda.

"This is extremely important, those murmurs are the beginning of a dark story," said Hermione and everyone looked back at the book more interested that before.

**Lockhart was looking at Harry in high astonishment. **

**"What are you talking about, Harry? Perhaps you're getting a little drowsy? Great Scott - look at the time! We've been here nearly four hours! Id never have believed it - the time's flown, hasn't it?"**

**Harry didn't answer. He was straining his ears to hear the voice again, but there was no sound now except for Lockhart telling him he mustn't expect a treat like this every time he got detention. **

**Feeling dazed, Harry left.**

**It was so late that the Gryffindor common room was almost empty. Harry went straight up to the dormitory. Ron wasn't back yet. Harry pulled on his pyjamas, got into bed, and waited. Half an hour later, Ron arrived, nursing his right arm and bringing a strong smell of polish into the darkened room.**

**"My muscles have all seized up," he groaned, sinking on his bed. "Fourteen times he made me buff up that Quidditch cup before he was satisfied. And then I had another slug attack all over a Special Award for Services to the School. Took ages to get the slime off... How was it with Lockhart?"**

**Keeping his voice low so as not to wake Neville, Dean, and Seamus, **

**Harry told Ron exactly what he had heard.**

**"And Lockhart said he couldn't hear it?" said Ron. Harry could see him frowning in the moonlight. "D'you think he was lying? But I don't get it - even someone invisible would've had to open the door."**

**"I know," said Harry, lying back in his four-poster and staring at the canopy above him. "I don't get it either."**

"That's the end of this chapter." Lucius said closing the book.

"The plot's thickening steadily," said Professor McGonagall but she wouldn't deny she was worried. In the beginning of the first book they discovered Harry was a Parseltongue and if only he could hear what was being said then maybe it had something to do with Voldermort or a snake, which could relate to what supposedly lay in the Chamber of Secrets. A chill went down her spine with the idea that a Basilisk could be roaming around the school injuring or even killing fellow students.

She looked at Harry and smiled sadly, he seemed to be a really great boy but the missing influence of his parents was easily effecting him. Sighing she looked around at her students, for the sake of Harry and even Neville she hoped they'd change the future so they could have a chance to be a family.

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